


In Darkness I Hide: A Zootopia Story

by Darkflamewolf



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2018-12-02 18:45:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 100,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11515248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkflamewolf/pseuds/Darkflamewolf
Summary: A coming darkness looms on Zootopia. A wolf with a shaded past confronts her own demons, both in her daily life as a bank CEO and during the night, hunting for relief from the pain that has stalked her. As the threat close to home draws near, can she put aside her own struggles to defend what she holds dear? Rated M for strong violence and sexual themes. (Incomplete)





	1. Monday - The Un-Standard Grind – The First Morning

_Savannah Central - The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A  
_ _Monday – 06:23 AM – Scattered Clouds / Mostly Sunny_

Murana woke up panting, her entire body glistening with sweat, its smooth viscosity dribbling through her fur. She pressed a paw deep into the hairs of her forehead, massaging it gently as the final visages of the nightmare ebbed away into oblivion. She realized her breathing was rapid and fought to get it under control. The dream had been awful. She scarcely wanted to bring it to the forefront of her thoughts for fear of having it suck her back into nothing but terror and dread.

"You okay babe?" A groggy voice emerged beside her, the covers sliding away to reveal her husband.

Like her, Anthony was a timber wolf of standard grey complexion, with a pelt that was as unique as it was ordinary. His buff upper body denoted years of physical training and combat practice that was required of him by his job. He stretched forward wide as his tongue did curls in his open maw, grunting with satisfaction when several audible pops were heard up and down his spine.

He turned to Murana and laid a comforting paw on her leg, "Was it a bad dream again hun?"

She shook her head aggressively, "It's fine. I'll be fine."

His expression melted a bit at her dismissal but he knew better than to try and force something out of her when she wasn't ready to divulge. At length, he shrugged, "Very well. Since I'm up, I might as well get dressed and start us a pot of coffee."

"That would be nice." She exhaled, feeling the last vestiges of panic recede.

Murana slipped out of the sheets, pacing over the fresh grass of the floor as she stood staring out the corner windows overlooking the verandah. The city of Zootopia spread forth like an expanse of twisted columns filled with beautiful majesty. Each individual spire designed uniquely like the mammal that inspired it. She could already see the steady flow of traffic from the early morning commuters making the trek to their daily routines.

The sound of the television interrupted her thoughts as she turned to the vivid screen resting on the carved, wooden dresser. Anthony always loved some sort of background noise as he went about his business in the den. It was the same major news report they had been airing for nearly a week now. Unusual nighttime electrical storms that tended to hover low over the city and travel from one end to the other. She wasn't much interested in the weather, so she refocused back on the city she loved.

"Man, you look beautiful." He marveled.

Her brown tail swished behind her agitatedly at the compliment, she still wasn't much used to those even after a year of marriage. Pivoting on a heel, she watched her husband gaze longingly at her, beholding her form bereft of any clothing. Unlike most her husband, Murana had a unique, swirling pattern of black strands interweaving with the more traditional pelt of grey and white giving her a somewhat foreign look. She was lean and slender but physically toned with muscles that could spring to life in an instant should the need to action arise.

"Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere this morning buster!" She laughed, shifting her eyes over to the wall clock. "You slept through your alarm and will be late for work if you don't hurry along."

He ignored her comment and strode up to her, coffee mugs in paw, to give her a passionate lick on the muzzle. He nestled himself up against her as a low growl rumbled in his chest, "Chief will understand if I'm a bit late this morning."

In one swift motion, she firmly pushed him away while simultaneously snatching her favorite coral mug from his paw. After a sip, "Your excuses are only going to get you so far with him. One of the reasons I married you was because I knew you were responsible and dependable, don't slack off now that you have a rich wife to come home to."

Anthony trailed a claw down the length of her lower jawbone, teasing the end of her lips with it. "Remind me again how I ended up with such a wonderful gal like you?"

She smirked behind her mug, "Hard to say at this point. Memory is failing me."

"Slick." He murmured, unable to hide his goofy grin. "Fine, fine. I'll go get dressed for work."

"It's about time you lazy bum!" She feigned a kick in the rear as he scampered over jovially to the bamboo bead closet.

Murana shook her head before resuming her vigil over the city. Taking deeper sips of her coffee, she breathed in the fresh aroma of the beans he used. Was that Macadamia Nut White Chocolate? She grinned as she brought it back up to her lips. He really was gunning for something more rambunctious tonight if he was treating her to this type of coffee. She hazarded a glance behind to see him shoving his head up through a blue collared T-shirt.

"Nuh-uh!" She clicked her tongue, taking big steps towards him. "You will not be wearing your uniform like it's casual Friday!"

"The standard blues is so itchy and tight on me. I don't like it!" He whined as she ripped the shirt right up off his body.

She firmly batted his abs hiding behind the stomach fur, "Only because you need to just cave in and buy a larger set. You're getting too swollen as it is with your exercise regime."

He wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her in close, "You like that then babe? I can totally make these abs work for you tonight!"

Bopping him on the nose, "Yep, seriously forgetting how I ended up with you."

He barked a laugh as he slipped a quick lick before rummaging around in the chest of drawers. "You know you love me for my sense of humor!" She merely shook her head at this.

Pulling out a wrinkled pair of blue slacks complete with an already fastened belt, he padded over to the closet to pull down his collared, buttoned shirt, complete with name tag, lapels and badge. Wolford was an officer of the prestigious Precinct 1 of the Zootopia Police Department, still currently serving the call since his graduation from the Academy nearly five years ago.

Murana always did like a male in uniform. Tapping a finger to her chin, she admired Anthony as he fastened up his shirt and pulled on his leggings. She nearly closed her eyes in disbelief, "Seriously? I am going to have to iron out those pants tonight when you get home. They look ridiculous compared to your top!"

"Says the one who didn't approve of my first outfit." He smiled, revealing his teeth before plopping down on the bed.

"No wonder your boss hasn't promoted you yet in four years. You feel going casual is the modus operand at the ZPD. You know what you wear is part of the impression you give of your overall interest in getting ahead, right?" She tried to explain.

"I'm happy with where I'm at! I love my job, my den, and the love of my life! What more could I want?" He extended his arms out, gesturing to all that they had.

"Granted, it was a stroke of luck I found you at that coffee shop." She ruminated.

"Don't I know it!" With a wink he bounced up from the bed and gave her a quick kiss goodbye, gripping a good fistful of fur on her tail. "Baby, I want you to be just the way you are right now tonight when I come home."

"Hmm." She hummed into her drink as she brought it back up to her mouth, "That still remains to be seen." She flicked her head off in the direction of the door. "Now go on and get to work, I got to go meet someone this morning."

His countenance faded into a scowl. "It isn't him again, is it?"

She thumped the back of her paw on his shoulder, "Be nice. He's been with me for years. There's nothing for you to be jealous about and you know it."

"Yes dear." He turned shaking his head and shut the door quietly behind him, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Shivering slightly from the lack of clothes, Murana turned the thermostat on the wall up a few degrees before resuming her stance opposite the verandah. Flicking her tail at an itch, she lamented the thought of getting dressed soon. She found the most delightful place in Sahara Square called the Mystic Springs Oasis. After all the time she had spent in Zootopia, she chided herself for not finding it sooner.

When she had first heard about the place from a fellow colleague of Wolford's, she couldn't exactly believe her ears that such a place existed. Her first visit was anything but comfortable however, given that it was a naturalist club. Once the initial shock had worn off and she realized that nobody really cared what you looked like with clothes off, she began intermingling with the patrons there and discovered a lot of good nuggets of info that couldn't be found anywhere else.

After some reminiscing, she knew she'd have to get ready eventually, but unlike Anthony, being the CEO of a bank sort of gave you a bit more leeway with your schedule. Figuring she'd at least finish the wonderful cup of coffee her husband had made before picking a suit to wear that day, she downed the rest of it in one gulp. Walking into the kitchenette in the front room, she set the mug into the sink before heading into her closet.

Selecting a delightful pinstripe suit with vertical teal bands on both the slacks and blouse, she fitted herself into her white undershirt before swearing as her tail knocked a picture over and off her nightstand. Picking it back up, she paused a moment to regard the subject of it. It was two wolf pups in a small red wagon. Both had been shaved clean of all their fur, but the older female pup was hugging her little brother as tight as she could while he idly played with something she had quite forgotten inside the wagon.

With a wistful look, she delicately set the frame back onto the stand, taking great care to arrange it just right so that it would be the last thing she saw before sleep. Finishing up getting dressed, she took one last look around to make sure everything was in order. She smirked as she saw the still messy bed. That'll be something for him to take care of when he gets home tonight. With a quick twist of the lock, she swept out the door into the hallway, giving a short bang on the wall for her little neighbor.

* * *

_Savannah Central - Snarlbucks – On the Corner of Screech Ave. and Pride St.  
_ _Monday – 07:15 AM – Few Clouds / Mostly Sunny_

Murana weaved and threaded through the herds of sheep and cattle as she made her way down the bustling street, incessantly tapping on her phone as she texted her secretary of the things that needed accomplishing that day. The din was roaring as various street cars honked at the slow pedestrian mammals that were continuing their laborious crossing at the stoplight long after it had turned green. Like a seasoned pro, she didn't even need to look up to see where she was heading, having memorized these streets a thousand times during her years living here.

Coming up on a rather busy corner of Savannah Central, she glanced up to see the imposing structure of the ZPD; the glass dome atop its sodded rooftop gleaming in the morning sun. Dismissing the sight, she turned right into a corner coffee shop that happened to be one of her favorite locations. The line was already out the door this early in the day but she bypassed the crowd without breaking stride and entered into the cool interior.

She saw the crowd of mammals huddled towards the back at the cashier counter, where several ibexes frantically rushed to make the multitude of cappuccinos and lattes that were being ordered. She glanced over the rest of the dining area and spotted a few booths along the windowed front, each housing several hanging bulb lanterns above each table.

She spied a rather inconspicuous skunk sitting up in one of them, his legs dangling over the edge, idly swinging back and forth. He was wearing a rather obnoxiously yellow shirt with faded cargo pants. He sported a blue billed cap with the letters ZNN emblazoned on the front, something he had worn proudly the day he was hired by the company and received it as a hiring gift. Around his neck, he wore a small pine tree air freshener tab, held up by a makeshift lanyard since he had lost the original chain that came with it.

Murana clicked her phone off and placed it in her suit coat pocket as she grinned at the diminutive skunk, his head bobbing to some tunes only he could hear through his over-sized headphones. He already had a small latte cradled between his paws with another, much larger one opposite him in the empty half of the booth. She smiled at this kind gesture, that even after all this time he still was thinking of her during the morning routine.

Sidling up beside the unsuspecting skunk, she flicked off the headset, deftly catching it in mid-air before it clattered to the table. "How's my little stinker doing today?" She jested.

He gave her a look of indignation at having his music interrupted, but graciously accepted the headphones back. He tucked them away in his Andy Lagopus themed backpack, a New Year's gift from the head of ZNN to all his employees, before ensuring that he zipped the dislodged zipper up tight. "Doing just fine mom." He quipped back, readjusting the big-rimmed glasses on his face.

Murana slipped into the booth sitting across from him, lifting the coffee cup up to her nose and taking in a deep whiff. "Macadamia nut chocolate. I'm starting to think my husband has been stealing your ideas." She savored a sip, closing her eyes as she let the flavors meld in her mouth.

The skunk raised an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms, "Well of course! I've lived with you far longer than he ever has. I think I know what you like."

Her shoulders slumped slightly, was he still angry about that? "Steven, you know you couldn't live with me forever. It was time for you to move out on your own. I think finding an attractive, stinky girlfriend will be good for you."

"Urgh!" He slammed his back up against the booth siding. "Stop treating me like a kid!"

"Then stop being so upset that we moved you out. It was time." Her eyes wandered over to a rather pretty skunk with a luxurious tail waiting in line to order. "Besides, I think that one over there would be a fine catch."

"That's not the point of why I brought you here." Steven replied, straightening his arms out, claws nearly scratching the table in exasperation. "I needed to talk to you."

"I'm glad actually." She admitted. "I hadn't heard from you in almost a week, I had thought something was wrong. I was looking forward to our next meeting."

He looked away, feeling a bit guilty, "Well, that's kind of the reason why I brought you-"

Her focus drifted down to his chest, where the air freshener hung, its colors bleached from years of wear. "You still carry that grungy old thing around?" She indicated it with a claw.

He gripped it lovingly, bringing it to his nose to smell the pine scent that he still believed it held. "Yeah! This was the first gift you gave me after I…um…"

She cocked an eyebrow, "Stunk up my apartment for the first time."

"I'm still sorry about that." He apologized sheepishly.

She leaned across the table to playfully pull the bill of his cap down over his eyes. "It's fine. I'd like to say that after all those times I've gotten used to your smell. You're still my little stinker!"

Steven managed a small chuckle from that. "I like it." He spoke, fiddling with the tree. "It keeps me calm when I'm at work and Chris is picking on me."

It was Murana's turn to fold her arms, "Is he still bothering you? Want me to take care of him?"

After a nervous laugh, "No, that's not necessary. If it gets really bad, I think I can have my boss talk to him."

"Well, you know how to contact me if it comes to that." She uncrossed and took up her drink again.

His eyes bulged suddenly "Oh, that's right! That reminds me." He dug into his backpack, sifting through its contents with purpose. He set aside a camcorder beside him on the seat, which drew an inquisitive look from Murana. At length he drew out a small, unassuming pink box. He pushed it shyly across the table toward her. "I bought this for you the other day."

Murana stared at it, quite unsure what to make of it. She glanced around the café, "Here? Of all places Steven? You know this puts me in a bit of an awkward position. I am a happily married woman!"

He slapped a paw to his forehead, nearly knocking his cap off. "No! Will you please just open it? It's not anything like that!"

She smirked at him, revealing several teeth. "I'm just teasing you. Although I have absolutely no idea what you could possibly have-"

Her words caught in her throat as she beheld the two, gleaming earrings propped up in the small casing. They were fashioned exactly in the shape of the pine tree dangling around Steven's neck. She picked one out before the other, holding each in her paws, admiring them in the light of the lamps. Their vibrant green shimmered in the rays, causing a few patrons to notice and look in their direction. She brought them close to her nostrils, drinking in the scents of the forest.

"You even got them scented?" She remarked incredulously.

Steven swung his legs excitedly, apparently pleased with himself. "I figured they'd look good on you and would protect you from bad smells."

She lifted his hat off before ruffling the small tuft of fur on his head. "I would never think you smell that bad!"

He quickly straightened up his mane before slapping the bill cap back on defiantly. "You know I hate it when you do that!"

She drew back in mock hurt, "And here I thought you loved it when I did that!"

He rolled his eyes at her, "Well, I was thinking of you on our special day today and I thought something like that would look good on you." He raised his scented freshener up. "I even had to part with this for a few days while they took a mold of it."

She had paused in mid-piercing of an ear as she stared at him, "What special day?"

A look of anguish briefly flitted over his face. "You don't remember?" After a few moments of silence, he sighed. "You saved me today, eight years ago."

She finished putting in the second earring, sharing his sudden, miserable mood. "Oh…I'm so sorry Steven. I had completely forgotten. I was just-"

He turned to the side, looking out the window at the meandering crowds shambling past the shop. "It's fine. You're busy. I understand that. You're an important person and have things to do constantly every day."

She shook her head. "That's no excuse. I should have remembered this anniversary. I know how special it was to you…to us."

She cursed softly as the buzzing of the phone in her pocket interrupted their conversation. Steven's damning look as she excused herself to pick up the call only proved to further his point. She ignored his mouthing of  _'see?'_  as she turned her head to accept the call.

"This is Mrs. Wolford." She listened a few seconds before pinching the bridge of her nose in disgust. "Are you serious Trudy?" She growled. "That bumbling idiot is going to be the death of this bank! We need to get him off the damn payroll fast and fix this mess. See to it he is fired before I get there. Thank you Trudy." She nodded a few more times before clicking off. She turned to meet the accusing eyes of Steven. "Look, I've got to go."

"Of course you do." He uttered flatly.

Exhaling loudly, "Look, I love these gifts." She tapped the earrings now in her ears. "And I'll treasure them dearly. In fact I'll wear them all day today!" That brought a glimmer of a smile from the skunk but it did little to heighten his spirits. "Tell you what…I'll make it up to you. What do you say you and me go out to get a bite to eat tomorrow at the Oat and Cloister at the pier?"

He whistled apathetically, "That's a fancy place. I'm not sure what Wolford would think about you taking me there."

She gave him a look of regret, "I'm sorry I haven't been returning your calls lately. I've just been very busy, but I do plan to spend more time and get to learn how well you're doing at ZNN. It seems they recently gave you a promotion, that's exciting right?"

"Yeah," he muttered, "about three months ago."

"Oh…" She grimaced.

"Well, there's still something I want to-" He began, waving a paw to allay her shame on the matter. He was apprehensive about what he was going to say next, unsure of how she'd react.

"Can it wait?" Murana asked, placing her cell phone back in her coat pocket and fixing herself to get up and leave.

Afraid she'd walk out before he had a chance to get out what he needed to say to her, he blurted, "I don't think I want to do this anymore." His rate of speech sped up to match his anxiety.

A few hairs bristled on the back of her neck. "What do you mean?"

Gripping the coffee nervously and taking a drink, "I actually called you here to talk about our arrangement. I thought I was helping you assist in capturing serial killers, ones that were going around Zootopia and killing folks. You know…serving justice and all that. You'd always come back smelling different but at the time I…I kinda really liked the smell so I didn't question it." He finished, rubbing the back of his neck fretfully.

"Look if you don't want to tell me anything further, you can-" Murana attempted to reach out to him, to put a consoling paw on his arm. He drew back suddenly, drawing a hurt expression from her.

"I realize now it was the smell of death." He quivered involuntarily. "This needs to stop. I don't think I can go through with this anymore." He began to hyperventilate, taking in short, panicked breaths. His eyes went back to her face, "Last Tuesday I saw the killer with my own eyes."

She held his gaze a good, long moment before she relaxed back into her seat. "You know what Steven? Don't even worry about this anymore." She could see he wasn't calming down that much. "Steven, listen, take your medicine. You're starting to not breath."

Swiftly unzipping an outer pocket where Andy's smiling mouth was, he fetched out a small inhaler. He popped it in his mouth, taking a deep inhale of the puff; holding his breath for several seconds before letting it back out in a rush. He did another application before setting it back down on the table, his breathing slowly stabilizing.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, taking the blame for his condition.

Murana shook her head, expression softening. "Never apologize for who you are Steven. I love you just the way you are and will continue to love you just the same. If you're that upset about this arrangement then you don't have to participate anymore."

"You sure?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" She smiled, finally being able to pat him on the paw. "I'm sorry though Steven." She rose up from the booth. "I do have to get going to save my bank from another disaster. I apologize you had to see…that last week." She added hesitantly as an afterthought.

The skunk debated pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from his backpack, timidly tossing it on the table. "This is the last time I'm helping you Murana." He held her gaze, his own on the verge of tears. "But if I'm truly your little stinker like you say I am, you'll not take this one. Please…just walk away. For me." His lower lip was near to quivering.

She stood beside him, looking down on his small frame. Nothing was exchanged for several moments. "You want to meet up here tomorrow morning, like usual?" She offered. After a moment, he nodded his head briefly. "That's better. I'll see you then. Good luck today at work."

Murana patted him on the shoulder, deftly picking up the crumpled piece of paper he had laid on the table before walking out the café door. Seeing that she had taken it anyway despite his plea, he began to cry. It wasn't until he felt a presence next to him that he looked up to see the same female skunk she had pointed out earlier in line. She gave him a concerned look, tilting her head as she bounced her tail in curiosity.

"Um…are you Steven Stinkman?" After confirmation, she batted her eyelashes at him. "This wolf told me that you might need some cheering up and asked me to come sit next to you."

He slammed a paw on the table as he jerked around to yell out the store, "Mom!"

* * *

_Savannah Central - Lemming Bros. Bank Corporate HQ – 44_ _th_ _Floor, Executive Offices  
_ _Monday – 08:52 AM – Few Clouds / Mostly Sunny_

Murana swiftly made her way down the street, ignoring the din of honking and various growls and moans of the morning commute. Her mind was focused solely on the issue at hand, which was to get to her job quick and fix the unfolding catastrophe that was most likely getting worse by the second. She rounded the sidewalk corner and nearly stumbled upon a small, brown fennec fox wearing a rather obnoxious pair of shades. He was standing near a trash dumpster with a variety of wrapped burritos piled high on a rolling food cart situated beside him.

"Hey, watch it lady!" He raised both arms in defiance as he bellowed out in a deep voice.

She roared back, jabbing a claw at him, "You watch it! I know your game and what you're selling. It's a crappy scam with subpar ingredients. I can smell the inferior quality of meats you have on display and it's shameful to think you were even given a license for commerce and food handling."

"Now wait just a second there-" He began, taking off his glasses to get a better look at her, a bit taken aback by how much she knew about his enterprise.

"You look here fox!" She rebuffed. "I've seen you around my bank soliciting for money from my employees without a permit from the owner of the property, which is against local laws in the business district of Zootopia. You have no business being in this section selling your ill-gotten food. If I see you again, I will call the cops and have you arrested." With a final nod, she rose back up and smoothed down her suit. "Now when I come back out for lunch, I best see you gone."

"Tch, fine lady. Whatever." He waved arrogantly before packing up the burritos into the trolley and unhitching the wheels.

Satisfied that she got her point across, she glanced down at her phone as it buzzed. Another urgent text was screaming through her screen. Sighing heavily, she walked up to her building and looked up. She spied the small object hurtling down towards her position. Raising her paw up, she caught the small lemming, its velocity causing her to stumble back a few steps and take a knee. The backside of her paw barely scraped the sidewalk below. Several mammals gasped in shock at seeing the impromptu rescue.

"You should have let me die!" The lemming wailed, trying his best to wriggle out of her grip, doing little more than ruffle his business tux even further.

She rolled her eyes at him, "You drained over $300,000 out of ZNN's accounts and you still felt you deserved to keep your job? How does one ever go about making a mistake like that Carl?"

"It was an honest accident!" He chittered, his buck teeth shaking wildly with each word. "I promise I'll never do it again! I'll learn…I mean I've learned from my mistakes!"

"You almost didn't." She gazed up the high rise. That had to have been at least a thirty story drop. She should have probably just let him hit the ground. Her wrist hurt something fierce. She looked back down and glared at him. "You are right about one thing. You'll never be doing it again! If Trudy hadn't told you yet, you're fired."

A look of hope flitted across his face as he looked up into her eyes, praying he'd find mercy there. Within moments he knew his career was over. He went slack in her paws. "Just kill me now."

"That'd be a favor." Murana roughly put him down on his feet. She stared down at him as she rose up. "Go find another job and pray that it has nothing to do with accounting."

Flouting his meager attempts at groveling, she brushed him off and strode into Lemming Brothers Bank. Many rodents and other small mammals scurried out of the way of her paw pads walking across the front foyer of the bank. She smiled at the ferret receptionist manning the front desk before waiting in the mob of miniature animals staring up at the elevator lights as it counted down the floors. It would have looked quite comical for an outsider to see a timber wolf towering over the multitude of the critters surrounding her.

The doors opened before a flurry of movement. As if by unspoken code, the plethora of mammals shuttled in and out of the elevator without so much as a bump or push. They streamed up the escalators to their prescribed balconies overlooking the primary space where Murana herself stood, alone in a sea of lemmings, marmots and more. Unencumbered by the fleeting stares cast her way, she continued to send various texts with rising alarm to Trudy.

After multiple stops, the elevator landed on her floor near the top of the building. Several small doors along the sides of catwalk lining the interior of the cabin slid open to reveal various tubing and other small passages that would funnel the smaller mammals to other parts of the building. Murana tramped off and almost ran right over Trudy who had been lingering at the dual doors for her appearance.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Murana roared, stumbling past the frightened lemming and trying her best not to trample over any others loitering around nearby. After recovering, she faced Trudy and stared down at her petite form. The small mammal was dressed to the nines in a beige suit with skirt, a pearl necklace and dozens of diamond rings. It would have looked hilarious had it not been so serious a situation. "So you mean to tell me Carl sold off all of ZNN's assets?" Murana waggled her phone with the texts clearly visible detailing how much worse the situation really was than when it had started.

She bumbled a response back, "Yes! It was all I could do to stop him, but by then it was too late. The funds had already been transferred and the lock-in for the transaction won't expire until the close of business today!"

"Does Lagopus know about it yet?" Murana queried.

"I don't know but it won't be long." Trudy dutifully informed.

Murana snapped her fingers, indicating her secretary to follow her. As they went past multitudes of walkways and balconies bolted into the walls of the cubicle farm, she instinctually shielded several lemmings from an exploding printer, a result from weeks of misuse, and caught several others mindlessly walking off said balconies as they absorbed themselves in their phone apps. At length, they arrived at her office, having saved countless lemmings from unfortunate circumstantial deaths.

Shutting the door behind them, she surveyed the office. It was rather quaint for her position as CEO of Lemming Brothers Bank. It was no bigger than a standard bedroom with a lone redwood desk in the center placed atop a faux zebra-patterned carpet. A widescreen TV was mounted on the wall opposite a decorative evergreen plant. An elevator door for Trudy was installed directly into the base-boarding just beneath the TV. Wheeling the chair around behind the desk, Murana flopped down into it, nearly ripping her laptop open as she signed into it.

"Have we tracked any of our clients who aren't tapping into their accounts recently? Do we have sufficient capita in their funds to loan ZNN enough to stave off any overdraws?" She was rapidly crunching the numbers of where and how to move the money so that everyone had roughly enough for any reasonable major purchasing that business day.

A moment of silence was all it took to attract Murana's attention. She glanced up to see a flustered Trudy, now standing atop her desk, flexing her hands together over and over again. "That's the problem," she began reluctantly, "I might have freaked out a bit too much and told one of my friends about the disaster in my panic and it…might…have gotten back to some of our clients?"

A lethal glint invaded Murana's eyes as she stared at her inept secretary, "What did you do?"

The lemming raised both her paws up in supplication, "Please forgive me! The moment they heard of the grievous error, they decided to pull out their funds to prevent loans from being drawn from their accounts."

She blinked once at Trudy. "All of them?"

"All of them." She nodded.

Murana had to keep calm, trying not to hyperventilate in front of her idiotic secretary. Just what connections did this daft lemming have that could have prompted this shit-storm of disaster? Whether she did this purposefully or not didn't matter at this point for her. What mattered was trying to save her bank from bankruptcy and secure the faith of her remaining clients that were left on the books. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

Serenely opening up another tab on her browser, she asked soothingly, "Trudy, can you give me a description of what you do here?"

The lemming blinked at her boss, "I don't understand."

She clicked her nails on the wood, "Your job. Its description. Now."

Reciting from seemingly rote memory, Trudy prattled off, "Executive Assistant: provides administrative support and clerical assistance to executive and director-level management within a company. Roles include helping build the bank schedule, management of division employees, management of executive itinerary to include scheduling meetings, travel and other demands on the executive's time."

With a click of the mouse, Murana licked her lips. "Wonderful Trudy! Thank you so much for that."

"I'm sorry?" She uttered, very confused on what had just transpired.

"Your job. I just put an opening on Cat's List for it. You're fired." She said matter-of-factly.

Little tears began to well up around the edges of her eyes, "You're…firing me? But you can't! I've done so much for you…for this bank!"

Leaning back in her chair and propping her crossed hind paws up on the desk, Murana glared at the lemming, "Oh, I feel you've done plenty. Because of this debacle, my company is on the verge of collapse and now I have to save it from failure. You've made one too many mistakes Trudy. It's time you moved on to other pastures."

"Please have mercy! I have a husband! Kids! How can I go supporting them?" She wailed.

Murana gave a snort as she waved a paw to dismiss the lemming, "Please, you have only one litter and your divorced husband is paying alimony up the ass for them. Do not try to tell me that you'll be hurting for support."

Trudy collapsed to her knees and groveled before her, crumpling the papers beneath her legs as she drug herself closer to the wolf. "Don't fire me! Please! I've been so faithful to you all these years!" The tears were flowing freely at this point, her speech becoming incoherent.

Arms crossed, the wolf watched as the tiny lemming sniveled and transitioned from a respected professional to a blubbering mess. At length, Murana rolled her eyes and spread her arms, "Try to have some dignity please. I know it'll be rough on you but I'm positive that you'll make it through this hard time just fine. You need a hug or a moment to compose yourself before you walk out of my office?" She regretted offering the moment the words left her muzzle.

Nodding her head numbly, Trudy shambled over into the rather huge embrace of the larger mammal. Awkwardly putting her oversized arms around the tiny critter, she held the sobbing lemming in her arms. Murana had to admit that the little thing had grown on her these past few years since taking over the company from the previous owner who had died due to mysterious causes. Trudy had taken Murana under her wing and helped instruct her on the ways of banking. Murana was such an excellent student that within a scant year, she was making decisions and embodying the full mantle of leadership of the bank. No one questioned her skills and talents as CEO.

She was patting Trudy's head a bit when she opened her mouth to console her, "I understand that you-"

The words had barely passed her tongue when the lemming undid her hair pin and stabbed it deep into the wolf's chest. The assault was quickly followed by a piercing sting as two sharp teeth deep dug into her suit and pricked her skin. Roaring with fury, Murana rose up from the chair, knocking it backwards to the floor before gripping the lemming by the scruff and tossing her against the far wall like a ragdoll. Within moments, she was upon the murderous secretary with her hind paw pressing firmly into the fat folds of Trudy's windpipe.

Ignoring her flimsy gasps for air, she dug her paw deeper into the lemming's throat, her fanged maw drawing a terrified look from Trudy. "You little witch! Did you think I was going to cut you off with no assistance to help you find a new job? I had owed you that much! Now it seems you'll have to suffer the next few miserable years of your pathetic life behind bars!"

"What? No…gragh!" Trudy choked on her spit, Murana's leg pressing down harder to shut her up.

Murana had the cell phone up to her ear, pausing briefly to pull the hairpin out of her chest before tossing it aside into the trash can with expert ease. After a few moments, a rather effeminate voice picked up the line.

"Yes, is this the ZPD?" She glared down at Trudy. "I have apprehended an individual who has made an attempt on my life. Yes, I am Mrs. Murana Wolford, CEO of Lemming Brothers Bank." A few incomprehensible ramblings later, she nodded at no one in particular. "Yes, I am aware that my husband will be unable to assist. Can you send someone now to come pick up the mammal? Thank you so much Clawhauser. Remind Wolford to buy you a donut next time he sees you."

With a satisfied smirk, she clicked the phone off and dropped it in her suit pocket before resuming vigil over Trudy. It wasn't long before they could hear sirens blaring down the tall buildings, homing in on their position. Murana waited patiently over the lemming before a knock came to the door. After calling out to come in, she was surprised to see a rather small duo of officers. A vibrant, energetic bunny hopped into the room quickly, eyes darting about in what looked like an attempt to memorize the crime scene, while coming in behind her strolling casually was a red fox that seemed rather blasé about the whole affair.

"Good morning officers." Murana began, quickly shaking off her astonishment at the bunny and fox duo. Of course Chief Bogo would send the B Squad. She inclined her head to indicate the lemming trapped beneath her hind paw, "This is Trudy, the one who stabbed me in the chest with her hair pin," she tapped her lapel which had a sizeable hole, before pointing to the trash can, "and the weapon is in there, that you can take as evidence."

"Sounds like you got the whole scene set up for us then." The fox grinned.

"Stop it Nick!" The rabbit smacked his arm with the backside of her paw. "Thank you Mrs. Wolford. My name is Officer Judy Hopps and this is my partner, Officer Nick Wilde. We'll take it over from here!" She unfurled a plastic baggie and began gingerly picking the pin out of the trash.

Nick's eyes grew wide as he stared at the name placard on her desk, "You're Wolford's wife?" A low whistle. "Dang, I thought he was just joking when he said he had a sexy CEO as a wife!"

Judy chuckled, "And I thought you knew everyone in Zootopia Nick!"

He stuffed his paws into his pant pockets coolly. "Well I don't know everyone in Zootopia personally, but I may know of them." He stole a glance at the wolf, "Besides, I may have seen her once or twice outside this very building during one of my business ventures."

Seeing the half lidded expression of Murana, Judy caught the cue and quickly intervened, "And if you'd please excuse me!" She patted the wolf's leg to get up off of the lemming before attaching tiny handcuffs to the whimpering critter. "Thank you Mrs. Wolford."

Nick's gaze was roving about the room, taking it all in. He gestured back to the horde of curious lemmings who had stopped all work for the day to see what was going on. "So what life insurance policy do you have for these guys? Probably something expensive."

"We get a group deal." She stated flatly. "The company I go through understands the nature of these mammals. Thankfully they breed like rabbits."

Judy's ear flicked unconsciously at the statement but she chose to ignore the comment. Even Nick's eyes darted to Judy to see how she'd react. In the end, she got up and lifted Trudy under her arm before turning to Murana. "Thanks for apprehending the suspect. We'll make sure she gets to jail safely."

"She isn't a suspect, she literally stabbed me." She corrected the bunny.

Judy paused for but a moment, "Well, Officer Wilde here will get your story before we leave. It was very nice to…ah…finally meet you Mrs. Wolford." She swiveled on a paw before shooting a 'did-you-not-know-this-was-Wolford's-wife' glare at Nick and stalked out of the office.

"Charmed, I'm sure." Murana said monotonously.

Casually flipping out a pen and notepad, Nick wrote a small blurb at the top of the page, "Well it's not every day I get to meet colleagues' families and loved ones, so today has already been a real treat!" With a smug grin, he regarded the CEO, unfazed by her disdain for him, "So let's start from the top shall we? Who is Trudy and how did this begin?" Murana sighed audibly at this.

After what seemed like an interminable interrogation, Officer Wilde had all that he felt was needed to make a proper report and flipped the pad closed. With a suave goodbye, he left Murana alone in her office and shut the door rather roughly. She picked up and reset her chair before slamming into it angrily as she opened up several new emails that had come in. One aggravating one was from Andy Lagopus, owner of ZNN. It had a rather frantic nature to the writing and prompted immediate response.

She thumped her head on her laptop, "Why did you choose today of all days to make a purchase Andy?!"

Slapping the computer closed, she picked up her keys and swept out of the office, locking it swiftly behind her. As if on cue, all the lemmings surged out of their lethargy and began to look busy. With a low growl at their incompetence and inherent nature to find every likely excuse to not work, she flicked her tail at a few of them as she walked past, causing several to yip in shock.

Murana had no sooner gotten out on the ground floor of the bank lobby and was striding through the foyer when several screams and shouts directed her attention. Several gatling guns descended from the ceiling out of hidden panels and began taking aim at multiple customers throughout the room. She snarled before dropping to all fours and racing over to the front information booth, vaulting over it in a single bound before skidding to a halt on the freshly polished tile. The ferret receptionist squeaked at the sudden appearance of her CEO.

"What the hell were you thinking Trudy?!" Murana snapped, ripping open the lower compartment door at the base of the booth podium. Reaching into the small opening, she clicked a button which set the guns to standby. Within moments, they stopped revving up to fire and sagged visibly, their barrels pointing straight down.

Brushing down her suit, she stood up and assessed the scene. Multiple mammals and employees were slowly coming out of hiding behind couches, chairs, potted plants and pillars. She looked up at the two massive weapons and shook her head, "I must have been drugged or high when I signed those contractor papers. What was Trudy thinking, installing those things?"

She spent the next several minutes reassuring folks that things were under control and the overnight security measures were not going to go live anytime soon. She scowled up at the two guns. This would be another PR disaster for her bank. Yet another way Trudy was destroying her livelihood even after being fired. In time, the normal din and commotion resumed and mammals soon began to ignore the dangling weapons hanging from the ceiling.

Satisfied that all was at least stable for now, she turned to the revolving door entrance to see a lone otter standing there staring at her. He was fairly unassuming with a tailor fitted brown suit and a collared green shirt underneath complete with orange tie. What was most noticeable about the mammal was his rather round glasses that looked proportionally huge compared to his head. In the middle of the bridge was some tape to keep the crumbling lenses on his face.

"Can I help you?" She cocked her head as she padded up to him, looking down upon his rather small form.

Adjusting his glasses he smiled at her, "Yes ma'am. I believe you sent out a call for an executive secretary position?"

She was rather taken aback by the sudden appearance of an applicant. "That was fast. I just put that out an hour ago."

He chuckled, "Yes, quite. I just happened to be in the market looking for a new job when that got posted." He spread his arms wide, "So here I am applying for the job. A real stroke of luck that I found the CEO herself to apply to."

"You knew who I was?" She was already impressed.

He bowed briefly, "Of course Mrs. Wolford. I always do research on companies I apply to. It makes me more knowledgeable about their business and what they do. It also helps in interviews that you actually know what your future job entails before trying to apply for it."

"Clever otter." She grinned. Snapping her claws and pointing up to the gatling guns in the ceiling, "Tell you what, if you can get those things fixed so that they don't unintentionally activate during business hours, you've got the job."

He gave her a curious look, "I'm not sure I see how this relates to my job as executive secretary."

"You just said it." She beamed. "You would be executive secretary, and as such would do all the various jobs and duties the executive requires of you. Right now, I require this to be fixed by you. Consider it your interview."

"Brilliant." He replied, less than thrilled. "So how would I go about doing this?"

"Oh right!" She nearly slapped herself. She flipped a card out of her pocket and handed it to the otter, "This is a contractor we use to get structural work done within the bank of which this would most definitely apply. You can call them and," she gave him another card, "this is a special bank account we use for funds to apply to projects like these. Call the contractor and get them to fix this today."

He flipped the two cards over a few times, "I shall do my best Boss." Already shifting into the role, he had slipped out the title.

"Not yet I'm not." She smiled. "See you later today…um…"

He held out a paw, "Ronald Latrinae. But you can call me Ron."

She shook his paw amicably. "Good to meet you Ron. My name is Murana Wolford, CEO of Lemming Brothers Bank. Good luck!"

With that, she waved and slipped out of the foyer into the busy street beyond. Ron kept the smile up for her until she was out of sight. Turning to the two guns looming above him, his countenance visibly dropped as he contemplated what he should do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having a full Original Character (OC) cast set in an established world and then having readers follow them is no small task for an author. You need to immediately make the primary protagonists likeable and immediately accessible to the reader. The first scene in the apartment was so critical in setting up who Murana could be as a character, providing both her light-hearted side with a potential darker one with her nightmares and possible traumatic past. We also need to establish quickly her family ties and friends, those whom she cares about and which we'll also follow throughout the story. To that end, I needed to hit up first, her primary relationships with both her husband, Anthony and her adopted son, Steven. Both scenes were critical in developing the core arcs of her character. It's not until we hit up the bank scene where things get a bit more interesting and we get a look into her work life and the struggles she deals with on a daily basis. The introduction of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde was a great way to cement the readers into the world of Zootopia and ground this OC-centric fic in the reality of that universe.


	2. Monday - The Un-Standard Grind – The First Afternoon

_Savannah Central - Zootopia News Network Office Building – Corner of Elm and Birch  
_ _Monday – 11:07 AM – Sunny / Clear Skies_

Murana spied the tall spindle that was ZNN Studios crest the high rises as she turned the corner of Birch St. It was a magnificent structure where each side spiraled up into the sky like a curved horn. The northern-facing side was nothing but open panes of glass where one could see the busy inner workings of the mammals employed at this prestigious news company. She smiled wistfully as she closed the distance on the building; although she was here for a business reason, she just might get a chance to see her son at his job.

Upon entering through two layers of sliding glass doors into the vestibule, she could see the jittery arctic fox clicking his claws on the front informational booth counter. The white reynard was checking the clock on his phone every ten seconds, clearly anxious for something to happen. He was gaudily dressed in a tight-fitting teal suit with a white undershirt and maroon tie. She had to stifle a small snort at his attire that was clearly inappropriate for this time of year.

Flicking his tail agitatedly, Andy Lagopus looked up to see her walk through the entrance and flashed a devilish smile. "Mrs. Wolford!" He spread his arms wide in greeting as he sprang off the booth towards her. "So glad of you to meet me on such short notice!"

"Yes, I'm here to rectify a problem my idiotic secretary caused." She riposted.

His ears dropped slightly, "Clearly she isn't that bad of an employee, I'm sure it was just a simple mistake that-"

"I fired her and she is now on her way to jail. She just about bankrupted me." She explained hotly.

He wrung his hands, "Oh, that is very unfortunate." With a gulp and swift change in demeanor he switched topics effortlessly, "So I hope you've come here with a solution then?"

She kept walking towards the elevator, forcing Andy to keep pace with her. "Yes, I want you to cancel that purchase order you made immediately and save the buying for tomorrow."

"Well that's the thing, it already got charged through and if we cancel it now, it won't get cleared until tomorrow." He responded dismally, his normal chipper mood deflated.

Murana stopped suddenly as she rubbed a paw down her muzzle in frustration, "Then it's going to bounce when the numbers clear tonight at midnight. You're going to get over-drafted and that, along with a dozen other purchases clients are making, is going to send a red flag to the IRS and they'll come audit me and shut the bank down." She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying hard not to growl in rage.

"So does that mean we don't have money to work with?" He asked unsure.

"Yes!" She snapped, which caused Andy to step back a few paces. She sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, I am just a bit stressed. Can I look at your record books and see what we can liquidate for emergency funds so that can be in the system before the cutoff?"

He nodded vigorously, "Absolutely! We have plenty of merchandise we can sell off to help curb some of the damage." He bounced over to the podium, snapping his talons for the receptionist to move aside as he pulled out a box filled with memorabilia. "You think this will do?"

Murana sneered a bit as she pawed the contents of the box. It was filled with nothing but backpacks, mugs and magazines with Lagopus's face plastered all over them. It was a vanity project nightmare. She sifted through the junk and realized that even with all of this stuff it wouldn't be enough to match up with what was going out that day.

"Do you have anything better?" She waved her paw around as she thought of ideas. "Like unused desks, computers, printers, cubicle walls, anything office related we can chuck off for instant cash?"

Andy's eyes brightened, "Yes! Of course! We'd have to look in the records to see which assets are ready to be trashed. I'll have my secretary pull them up and we'll meet in my office upstairs. Is that okay?" With a quick nod from the wolf, he smiled. "Besides," he gave a quick peck on the lips to his face on the backpack, "I really don't think I could part with any of these anyway!"

Murana rolled her eyes, "I'll see you in ten minutes Andy. I need to visit someone here."

"Take your time Mrs. Wolford! I'll see to it that we're ready!" He beamed jovially.

Relieved to finally be rid of his perky presence, she rode the escalator up to the second floor balcony before heading over to the elevator that would allow her access to the upper floors. She got in and pressed the floor button she knew Steven would be working at and relaxed up against the glass wall of the cabin. There was a marvelous view of Zootopia as the elevator rose up alongside the exterior of the building, its rails shifting with the curvature of the façade.

Doors opening, she flowed out into the cubicle farm of dividers, hearing the constant flow of ticking coming from the multitude of keyboards strewn throughout the open bay room. Having memorized the layout from previous visits, she counted the openings down one row along the left side for several dozen meters before rounding the bend and seeing a small skunk tapping happily away on a report, oblivious to her presence.

She rapped on the metal end piece, causing the skunk to jump. "So you still wear that hat even indoors on the job?"

After recovering from his squeak, he pivoted the chair around and angrily glared at her, "You know I hate it when you sneak up on me like that! I could have embarrassed myself and stunk up this entire floor! I still…have problems with maintaining control."

Her ears drooped, "I'm sorry Steven. I'm just happy to see my little stinker again. I was in the area for business and I thought I should drop in and see how you were doing. Did you get that girl's number from the coffee shop?"

He slouched back, "No I did not! I told you I'm not interested or looking right now."

Her mirth fading, she realized this probably wouldn't be a very pleasant conversation, "Look, I'm sorry about this morning Steven. I didn't really expect you to find out."

Crossing his arms ardently, "Well I did and you showed no respect for me by taking that tip I got for you. I was hoping maybe, just maybe, you'd have the decency to honor your son's wishes and leave it. I put it out there because I thought for sure you wouldn't do that to me. After all, we've been through so much together! I guess it really doesn't matter since all I am is just an adopted son, not even a real son to you!" He ended bitterly, casting his eyes to the ground.

Murana's heart was pierced as she heard him utter those words. She had rescued Steven years ago and lacking his parents or the ability to track them down at the time, she took him into her home and raised him as her own. Now after all this time, it was her that was pushing him away and she felt powerless to do anything to stop it from happening.

"I'm sorry…I don't know what to say. My intent was not to hurt you Steven. You must understand that I'm doing this to save those who need help seeking justice." The skunk further sunk into the chair and looked away from her. Trying in vain to come up with something to ease the tension, she clicked a nail to her earrings, "I'm still wearing your present. They are lovely and they smell nice."

"Big whoop." He snarked, still not looking at her.

"Steven…please don't be like this." She pleaded. "You know I can't take it when you're angry at me."

His eyes locked onto hers, "Of course I'm angry. You kick me out of my home on your husband's insistence well before I was ready, you then barely text or call me unless it has something to do with your night excursions, and you completely forgot to celebrate my promotion to video journalist within ZNN." The mortified look on Murana's face sealed the deal, "Yeah, don't think I had forgotten that. And now today you completely miss our anniversary and showed just how much respect you have for your own 'son.' Sometimes I wonder if you even deserve the title of mom."

He couldn't have destroyed her resolve any better than if he had stabbed her right in the heart with a sword. With her tail tucked between her legs, she gripped the divider wall tightly, "I do apologize for all the times I was not a good mother to you Steven. I felt like I was doing my best but clearly I was not up to the task of being a parent. Maybe you're right…maybe I shouldn't be your mom."

Casting a glance in her direction to see if she was pulling his chain with her sincerity he was a bit jolted to see her genuinely remorseful, not even wanting to look him in the eye, but rather stare off down the row. He relaxed his arms, "I'm sorry I said those things…you just got me really frustrated."

She held up a paw, "No, no…you are absolutely right. I have failed you many times as a mother. I brought you in not knowing what to do with you or even how to raise you. Clearly it seems I was not up to the task."

Feeling guilty for lashing out at her like that, he cocked his head to the side, "That's not true, I feel you-"

"What's up Stinker?" Came a chipper voice from behind the partition.

With a sudden hop, a tawny-red maned wolf vaulted over into the cubicle and whacked Steven's hat off his head, chuckling as it hit the floor. He was about to comment further on his antics when he spotted the rather large wolf at the entrance to the skunk's workspace. "Oh, hello there Mrs. Wolford!" He straightened up, his expression and body posture changing to something more formal. "The name is Christopher Guára! Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Surprised Steven told you about me." She narrowed her eyes, unimpressed with this smaller wolf. The smell alone emanating from him was noticeable several spaces down but she had thought nothing of it until his appearance. "Is this that fox you were talking to me about earlier? The one who teases you?"

"Mom…that's not a good idea." He blurted out quickly, eyes darting back to the maned wolf.

The wolf twitched his ears in annoyance, a low growl erupting from his throat. "I am  _NOT_  a fox! I am a maned wolf!" Rolling up the sleeves of his orange hoodie, he pointed a finger at Murana, unafraid of her tall and brooding stature. "You of all mammals should have recognized what I am!"

Folding her arms calmly, she leaned up against the divider edge. "With your size and color fur, you could even fool a fellow wolf into thinking you're a fox. Ever thought of dyeing it a different color to you know…be less confusing?" She smirked.

He snarled, baring his teeth at her, "Do not mock me. I don't care if you're some haughty bank CEO or Steven's mom. No one insults me or my species!"

"I'd rethink those teeth there." She clucked smoothly. "That is just the same as brandishing a weapon and I really don't think you want to lose your job. So I suggest you put those back in where they belong and move along now."

He cracked the muscles in his neck with a jerk, heatedly debating with himself on if it was worth dragging this out further. At length he unfurled his hoodie sleeves and huffed. "Whatever. Enjoy your visit with your son, but from what I heard it probably isn't going to end well." On his way out past her, he stole a look at her earrings. "And those look ridiculous on you, just like something Steven would like."

He scampered off quickly as Murana attempted a kick at his rear on the way out. Seeing that it was pointless going after the punk wolf, she turned back to her son. "Is he always this disagreeable?"

He shook his head, "Not really. He's actually kind of nice when he's not teasing me. I guess he just likes messing with those he considers friends. However, you just set him off with his trigger. He really doesn't like being called a fox or treated like one."

"And I don't like my son being teased either. Someone needed to put him in his place." She sniffed with finality, watching the retreating figure turn the corner and disappear.

"So…are we okay?" Steven broke her focus and brought her attention back to him.

"I don't know. I hope so." She smiled forlornly.

"Will you be going out tonight?" He pressed, holding her gaze.

There was silence between them, nothing but the sound of keyboards could be heard. Her expression was unreadable as she finally spoke, "We'll see Steven." His face fell at her words. There was no promise there. "Look, it's been a bit longer than ten minutes and Lagopus is probably waiting for me upstairs with his secretary to go over finances. I have to leave."

"Yeah, go do your job mom." He waved a paw at her as he swung the chair back around to his monitor, claws ready to tap the keys again. "I'll just be here doing mine."

"I love you son." She said, lingering at the opening waiting for his response. After a few moments, she dejectedly left the cubicle and made her way back to the elevator.

He turned around one last time to see her gone and whispered, "I love you too mom."

* * *

_Savannah Central - Lemming Bros. Bank Corporate HQ – 44_ _th_ _Floor, Executive Offices  
_ _Monday – 13:21 PM – Sunny / Clear Skies_

Murana nearly spit out her third cup of coffee as she entered the bank. The normal sounds of activity met her ears. The gatling guns had already been retracted back into the ceiling with nary a hint of their location to those uninitiated to their presence. She noticed the receptionist chatting away happily on her cell phone, quickly giving her a curt smile and wave. The orderly lines of customers were straight and pristine, with only a few mammals aggravated at the length of the wait. Taking a long sip of her drink, she was intensely curious as to what had occurred while she was gone.

Sweeping through the mass of lemmings, utilizing her instincts to save half a dozen more from unfortunate deaths, she discerned a rather short shape through the opaque glass of her office. Bursting into the room elicited a squeak from the otter who had been busily typing away on her laptop. Beside him was a single cup of coffee that had been mostly drained. The look on his face was that of apprehension and worry.

"Just what exactly are you doing on my computer?" She interrogated, gliding over to the other side of the desk and getting ready to rip the brazen otter from her chair.

He kicked back from the desk to swiftly shift the chair just out of her grasp. It butted up against the wall before he stood up in it and raised both paws. "Boss! Don't get angry, but I advise you to quickly take a look at your screen to see exactly what I'm doing!"

Lingering with a heady glower, she turned to the laptop and scanned the spreadsheets and online web data. The more she scoured, the wider her eyes got. She looked back at the otter, "You did all this?"

He nodded eagerly, "Of course Boss! I'm sorry for hacking into your laptop but you literally gave me nothing to work with here!"

Murana's eyes dropped into slits, "Wait, you had no business being up here to begin with. I asked you to take care of the guns in the lobby. Why are you here?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Already done, Boss. I called those contractors just like you wanted and I even had them install a brand new control system to prevent accidents like this morning from happening again."

"A new control system?" She probed, slightly suspicious.

"Yes, quite." He clasped his paws behind his back, looking especially pleased with himself. "We now have a DNA filtering system installed at the entrance to the bank that employees and customers alike have to pass through and get scanned. Nobody's in the database yet, but if there is anyone that is on the deny list, the guns will activate and train on them."

She scratched her chin a bit, "Seems a bit underhanded to me."

"Oh, it's a painless and subtle process. The mammals going in and out don't even notice it's happening. Brilliant, I say." He assuaged.

Raising an eyebrow, she shook her head. "That still doesn't answer why you are up here in my office and…what was your name again?" She had completely forgotten from this morning.

"Ronald Latrinae Boss." He repeated.

"I'm not your Boss yet, otter." She stated flatly.

"I did what you asked, which was fix the problem in the front lobby." He smiled smugly.

She pointed a claw at him, "That remains to be seen Ronald. Now answer me, why are you here in my office without permission? Your answer might determine your fate."

Effortlessly disregarding the malicious threat, he mollified, "Please call me Ron. Now, after finishing up with the task you asked of me downstairs, I noticed there was a lot of commotion regarding normal operations here. After doing some poking around, it appears your bank is in a bit of a quandary of sorts."

"One could call it that." She grumbled.

"Right, right…well as I was saying, I knew there was a problem and I figured you'd appreciate me at least trying to help out, being your new executive secretary and all. So I came up to this floor and found that I did not have access to any of the lemmings' computers, not that any trusted me enough to use their tiny workstations. So to discover what the true issue was here, I had no choice but to pick the lock on your door and get into your computer. I do apologize for that, but I had no other resources to work with to help solve the problem."

"So what precisely am I seeing here?" She gestured to the monitor. "Where did this money come from? We did not have this amount available this morning and we shouldn't have it now."

Ronald brought his paws forward again, holding one elbow with the other. "Ah yes, that is…erm…shall we say a bit more underhanded than what I fixed this morning." At a look from Murana, he increased his rate of speech, "Going through your files, I noticed you had three linked offshore accounts filled with money that could be transferred over."

She banged a paw onto the desk, causing the otter to jump in the chair, "Those were not to be touched! That was our buy-out money to allow the bank to limp along a bit longer while we secured more clients and cash inflow to help stabilize the accounts! Why did you get into them?!" She practically roared, causing a few lemmings outside the office to stumble over themselves in their haste to get as far away from her office as possible.

If the otter was fazed by the fierce wolf that would be towering over him if he had been on the ground just feet from her, he didn't show it. "Well, if you'll hear me out Boss, I can explain." He pushed off the window sill to gravitate the rolling, plush chair back to the desk, forcing an irritable Murana to the side as she allowed him to get back to her personal laptop. Gripping the mouse, he navigated a few screens to the offshore accounts. "Okay, you see these?"

"Of course I do!" She retorted, her patience wearing thin.

"Of course." He mimicked. "Well, once I discovered these, I realized this would be the perfect solution to our problem! While we are out securing new clients and reassuring our old ones we are still solvent, we can show them these numbers and get them back into the fold. In fact," he swapped tabs and showed her the current roster of companies investing, "we already got quite a few back just at lunchtime."

Her mood lightened just a hair as she considered the possibilities Ronald was getting at, "But what happens tomorrow after all transactions close out and clear? Will this money stay in the active accounts or what?" She had to admit, the otter was already impressing her with his ability to respond to crisis, even if some of the tactics used were a bit unorthodox.

"Absolutely not!" He chortled, a bit to her irritation. After a few more clicks, "If you see here, once most of our clientele are back onboard Lemming Brothers Bank, we verify that the amount of money returned is the same as what we pulled from the offshore accounts. Once done, we then transfer that money safely back to those accounts and resume normal business operations as usual tomorrow, and no one is the wiser."

"And no one will be short of funds today for any additional purchases!" Her expression brightened as she stared at the screen.

"Brilliant!" He clicked his claws. He turned to her formally, causing her to back up after realizing she was closely reading over his shoulder. "I apologize again for overstepping my bounds, but I couldn't just idly sit by and watch this bank go under." After a moment's pause, he inclined his head back toward her office door, "Did you happen to notice anything else on your way in?"

"Not really." She admitted. She did count a few less lemmings she had to save this time around but didn't really catch on to anything else out of the ordinary.

Stepping out to the main office space, she surveyed the scene and was amazed to find that there was some semblance of order in the chaos that was the lemming work ethic. Lines of patient lemmings were formed just outside the various pipes strewn throughout the room. Hundreds of little, ticking keyboards were heard as the multitudes of employees were legitimately doing their work. No need for threats of violence or rousing growls of encouragement. Just what the heck did the otter do while she was gone?

She took a few steps back before twirling around and shutting the door behind her. She beheld the expectant otter still standing up in her chair for a few moments. "What did you do to my employees?" She marveled.

He nearly bowed but checked himself, "Nothing that a stirring speech of encouragement and a firm hand couldn't fix. Sometimes some positivity is needed along with stern direction, Boss."

"Indeed, I am quite amazed they are so compliant." Cocking her head to the side, the phrase he just uttered resonated with something she could barely remember now. She regarded his face. "You look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"

Readjusting the glasses on his face, he smiled, "I don't believe so Boss. I'm just a friendly otter looking for a secure job. Do I have the position?"

Putting a paw to her breast, she had to stifle a giggle. Boy was this guy cheeky! "Well, you certainly went about your interview in a rather bold and innovative way. You were resourceful and adaptive to the situation. Yes, I do believe you'll do, Ron."

Clapping his paws together, he couldn't contain his excitement. "Excellent Boss! I knew you'd see the potential I have!" Hopping down off the chair and backing away a few paces before extending his paws out to it in offering for her to sit, "So what is your first official task? What do you require of your executive secretary?" He rather liked that title and beamed as he said it.

Passing him as she settled back into her seat, she leaned back in it a bit, pondering on the situation. She never really had a fully competent secretary before, nowhere near as ingenious as this otter. She could probably ask anything of him and it'd get done. The possibilities were endless to the point she was almost ecstatic that she could probably get actual work done during the day without having to worry about the place burning down. She needed to calm herself though and not overextend her role as his boss.

Oblivious to her inner thoughts, he cleared his throat. "Boss?"

Shaken out of her reverie, Murana looked him directly in the eyes, "Yes…yes, Ron. I actually want you to continue with what you were doing before I got here. Since you're kind of in the middle of doing it and I'd just be jumping in at the halfway point, I don't think I'm the best mammal to be finishing what you started."

He looked curiously at her and then at the computer, "Do you have another laptop for me to work with or should I continue to use yours?"

She returned her gaze back to the screen in thought, "Yeah, that'd probably be best. I'll have a brand new laptop furnished to you tomorrow morning down at the reception desk when you clock in. For now, you can stay here with me in the office and continue to work and resolve our problem."

"So will I be in the chair or on the floor? I can't really reach up to the top of your desk to work Boss." He reasoned.

Scowling at him, she pointed to a spot on the rug before the desk. "You can bring the laptop down there and work. I'll be in my seat checking on our stocks to make sure they weren't badly affected." This otter really was daring! He had no qualms about expecting more than what was due to him and yet somehow remained likeable to her despite her misgivings about his attitude.

Ronald looked from the floor to her before cracking a grin, "I see. I should have expected Boss. Just hand me down the laptop and I'll get to work on it right away!"

After placing the computer on the floor, the otter unfastened his tie slightly before situating himself comfortably with his back up against the front of Murana's desk. Spreading his legs and placing the device neatly between them, he began happily tapping away on it. Keeping an occasional eye on his progress, she hitched her hind paws up on her desk and began flicking through the stock numbers on her phone, making purchases and sells to further her business revenue.

She grew bored with the stillness of the office, so unused to having the entire bank operation running so smoothly. She got up and walked past Ronald who had a look of consternation on his face, several spreadsheet windows open to his purview. He glanced up as she went past but said nothing, preferring to observe in silence. She opened the office door and scrutinized the lemmings hard at work. She could scarcely believe that this otter had brought them so under heel that there wasn't a catastrophe happening every minute. This was such an alien feeling to Murana that it unnerved her.

Flummoxed, she went back in and shut the door quietly so as to not disturb the critters who probably had little awareness that she was watching them. She reclined back into her chair and turned on the flat panel across the room. It sprung to life with a small hum just as the ZNN news was airing their daily report. She shared a look with Ronald before returning to the television. On the headline news were the two standard anchors: Fabienne Growley, a snow leopard of some fan-boy renown and Peter Moosebridge, a no-nonsense moose who took his job very seriously.

"Today Zootopia was plagued by yet another electrical storm this morning during the wee hours as everyone was in their beds." Peter began. "Several locations of the city are still without power, but officials say that they are working around the clock to get power back online for those affected residents."

"This has been yet the third instance of these storms, and meteorologists are baffled as to why these could be occurring." Fabienne continued. "Although there has been no lasting or impactful damage to the city itself, the power outages are, to many, annoying at best, costly at worst."

Murana muted the station as she bobbed one hind paw over the other, mulling over the top news story of the day. Without looking at him, she spoke out, "Ron, what do you make of these odd storms we've been having every night?"

He looked up from his work to the screen, seemingly absorbed in what he was doing, "Oh…those?" He cleared his throat, "I don't think they're natural. Definitely not something Mother Nature would have made. Maybe there was an electrical fault in one of the Zootopia wall grids that caused this and the mayor is covering it up?"

She tapped her chin a few times, considering his words. "Not too sure myself. I will agree with you on one point however, they are not natural." Clicking her phone off and dropping it in a pocket, she stood up from her chair. "Well Ron, I actually do have a small errand I need to get done before close of business today. You feel like you can handle the fort while I'm gone?"

His face wilted at her words, "You're not staying Boss?"

"Afraid not." She smiled. "Something I promised someone a while back and I need to make good on my promise. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow at 0730. We have a lot of work to do to make up for the disaster that was today."

"Indeed, indeed." He agreed. "From what I'm seeing here, there has been embezzling for years. Whoever was your previous secretary set you up for failure Boss."

Murana barked a laugh, "Figures. I always knew that little shit was up to no good. She was always the best at sucking up though. Please collect as much evidence from those hard drives as you can. We'll go over it in the morning." She waved a paw in the direction of her TV, "The remote is on my desk. You can keep it on if you wish or turn it off at your leisure. Feel free to continue to work in my office until you close up for the night. The procedures should be in a binder in the upper left drawer. Congratulations on your position Ron."

"Thank you kindly Boss! I won't let you down!" He boasted.

"You haven't yet." She winked before waving goodbye and exiting the room.

* * *

_Downtown - Tail Hollow Orphanage – Happytown District – Corner of Deluge Ave and 34_ _th_ _St.  
_ _Monday – 15:02 PM – Sunny / Sporadic Clouds_

Happytown was honestly a hovel. Sandwiched between the Rainforest District and downtown Savannah Central, the sparse collection of buildings seemed more like an afterthought than an actual planned district of the city. Steaming plumes of smoke dissipated into the air from various chimney spouts encrusted onto the roofs from years of weathering, a product of a bygone era of technology that was cheap enough for the residents of this place to afford.

Murana sidestepped several beggars and sleeping lobos straddling out their filthy bodies across the grimy sidewalks. The noxious fumes hung in the air around the factories that dominated this section of the city. For those who never came here and experienced the happier side of life in Zootopia, this little district would be a culture shock in the extreme. For her, however, it felt almost like coming home to the familiar.

Her destination wasn't something unusual in these parts however; in fact, given the pristine nature of the rest of the city, it was no wonder higher leadership decided to migrate all their forsaken orphans and wretches to this part of town. She located her target dead ahead down a rather mangy street littered with refuse and debris, several cars jacked high with wheels long since stolen. No wonder so many orphans still lived in these parts, no self-respecting citizen would endanger themselves to come here to adopt. There was one orphanage in Tundratown, but that catered mainly to the rich, ironically enough.

Passing by the spinning fans of several ancient air conditioner units hanging precariously out of several low built windows, she strode up the steps to the Tail Hollow Orphanage and rapped on the door several times. Her ears perked up as a gunshot went off several blocks down, but given that another did not follow she knew that she was safe where she was. Presently she heard several locks and deadbolts being unhinged as the door creaked open to reveal a female panther in a black habit peeking out at her through the slit of the opening.

"Murana?" She said relieved, opening the door wider before embracing the wolf in a jovial hug. "It is so good to see you." She glanced up the rickety stairs to the upper rooms. "You here for Max again?" After a nod she raised her hand to the bannister above, "Feel free to take as long as you like. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you again."

"Thank you Matron." She bowed slightly. "Has he asked about me at all?"

The panther beamed, "Oh yes, just this morning actually. You haven't been around for several weeks, he was wondering if you had forgotten about him."

Murana's smile turned to one of sadness, "I could never forget about Max."

The Matron reached out and gripped a paw firmly, gently pulling her back to face her. "When do you plan on filling out the paperwork Murana? I can see plain as day that you want him. It has been over three months. What is holding you back?"

The wolf just stared at the panther for what seemed like an eternity, for that was a question she truly didn't have an answer for yet. "I don't know." She said finally, sending the cat into a rather gloomy expression. "I'm sorry Matron, I just don't feel like I'm ready."

"Well, he is." She responded morosely. She released her and waved a paw up the stairs. "Go. My only advice is to not drag this out any further if the heart is not willing and break his."

Without a word, she bowed her head in acknowledgement before setting foot upon the creaking stairs. Each step expressing a loud cry of protest as her weight was impressed upon them. She could hear some clopping of hooves up above as she ascended the last few steps to the upper balcony, several of the support pillars holding the bannister broken or missing. She rested a paw on the railing and sighed, she was aggrieved at the appalling state of these institutions for children in Zootopia. There should be far more funding put into the future of this city, but was being siphoned off to more frivolous causes.

She was about to open the door leading to the hallway of rooms where Max was, but yelped loudly as the door suddenly opened, nearly smacking her in the face. Before the door stood a rather large tawny-colored wildebeest with a brilliantly long mane of black reaching down to his very chest. His green sweater vest laid over his cyan shirt was swollen from the bulge of his muscular pecks. His dark grey eyes were quite penetrating. If it weren't for the fact Murana was married and had minimal interest in cross-species relationships, she might have made a pass at this fine specimen of savannah prey.

The gnu looked quite startled that she was on the other side of the door. He backed up promptly and nearly stumbled over himself in his haste at being polite. "Pardon me, my lady!" He spoke with a bold tenor in his voice. He held the wooden door open with a hoof as he stepped back into the hallway to allow room for Murana to pass by. "Please do not mind me."

Stunned at this uncanny flourish of proper etiquette and chivalry, Murana smiled at him, nodding at his gesture and striding past, "Thank you…er…"

"Grayz, Ma'am." He raised his free hoof to tip his cap before realizing it wasn't there, making him appear more awkward than he had intended. He let the hoof drop loosely before continuing, "You can call me Ralph, however."

"Thank you for the door, Ralph." She gazed down the hall a moment before looking back to the expectant wildebeest.

"Might I say those are lovely earrings you're wearing." The wildebeest complimented, gesturing to the sparkling pine trees by her ears.

Her paw instinctively went up to one, a bit self-conscious that anyone had noticed them. "Thank you. My son gave these to me this morning."

"He's got good taste! Your son must be a wonderful cub. How old is he?" He asked eagerly.

"He's actually a skunk." She corrected.

"Oh, my apologies. I overstepped and assumed." With that, the conversation died, each looking at the other with the grace of an awkward cow trying to dance.

Trying to alleviate the silence, "You here to adopt as well?" She didn't really recall there being any antelopes or other such youth housed at this particular orphanage.

He brayed slightly at the topic, seemingly embarrassed to be discussing such a thing. He looked nervously down through the slats of the bannister to the front door of the building, as if someone he didn't want to see would come strolling right in and spot him. "I'm just…um…testing the waters. Yeah… just checking to see if I'd be good at handling kids for my future job as a nanny."

She could see through the bald-faced lie but she did not reveal her hand, instead letting the gnu keep his dignity. "Well I'm sure you will be a fine nanny indeed. I can see it already that you have a good heart. Who knows?" She grinned evilly, "I might just look you up in the future for babysitting my kids at some point!"

"Right…um…I'll be sure to keep-" He was interrupted as radio chatter buzzed through the back of his jeans. He gave her a sheepish look before excusing himself and letting the door swing shut before hurrying down the caterwauling stairs. She could faintly hear his conversation as it trailed off outside, "Yes, this is Officer Grayz. Yes Hopps, I am aware I have my first shift tonight…"

Shaking her head in amusement, she padded down the hall leisurely. Her ears darted this way and that as multiple voices and laughter of children could be heard behind various closed doors. At one point, a small cheetah cub barreled out of an entryway on her left, apologizing quickly as he zipped past her to slam the door on her right, followed by a fit of giggles beyond. She was in a different mindset here in this place, more at peace than she had ever been this week. She loved it here.

The door in question was already ajar by the time she got there. She couldn't hear much from out in the hall but she could smell that Max was in there. She gently pressed inward, wincing slightly at the annoying squeak it made as it opened. She could see his huddled form facing away from her on the bed. His striped tail of black, brown and tans was wrapped around his legs, which were bunched up to his chin, head resting on the knees.

Max Thrash was a torch key raccoon of about twelve years that was smaller than most, a runt of the family if you will. He had a tan complexion throughout his fur minus the black paws and the brown tummy, eyes, and muzzle. His eyes of hazel were some of the most breathtaking things Murana had ever seen and was one of the reasons she fell in love with him. He had on a black shirt with a red stripe across the middle and a pair of jeans that had holes torn at the kneecaps.

He did not respond to her entrance and was fiddling with some small stuffed animals that the Matron figured he was interested in. She took a couple steps inside, "Hey Max," she began tentatively, "It's me. Murana. I'm sorry I wasn't able to see you this last week but I'm here now."

"Hi Murana." He caroled back without feeling.

She shut the door quietly and surveyed the room, inspecting the condition of it. There were dust bunnies collecting in the corners and probably monsters under the bed. A few overly used toys were strewn across the floor with no real rhyme or reason for their placement. There was a glass of half-drunken water on his nightstand alongside his bed frame that was made of rotting wood and splinters. She took the chair from beside the nightstand and faced it towards him before smoothing down her suit and sitting down opposite him.

It was then she noticed the bruises and a cut along his eyebrow that seemed rather fresh. She nearly gasped in anger at the sight. "Did you get in another fight again, Max?"

His face moved toward her but didn't quite meet her eye level; instead he concentrated on her hind paws as he talked. "They called me stupid again. Said my last name was trash. I am not trash!" He hiccupped.

"You're not trash Max." She consoled, reaching out a paw to comfort him. The moment it touched his shoulder, he moved back further onto the bed. She managed a weak smile of encouragement before dropping the paw back onto her lap. "I would never think that about you Max. Those kids don't know what they're talking about. You are intelligent. You are smart. You are handsome."

He picked at the claws of his hind paw a few times. "Matron doesn't think so. She grounded me to my room until dinner tonight. She doesn't want the other kids to play with me. She thinks I'm too violent."

"I was a violent kid myself when I was younger." She chuckled, wanting nothing more than to hug this hurting raccoon and soothe his doubts and frustrations. "But we can't always be resorting to violence when the bullies come knocking Max, you know that."

He cradled his head a bit deeper between his two knees, "I know Murana. I know. But they wouldn't stop teasing me. I kept telling them to go away but they'd just keep coming back, saying 'Max is trash! Max is trash!' I just wanted to punch their little faces in!" He gripped his jeans tight, claws digging lightly into his flesh.

This time she didn't let him pull away. She grappled both shoulders and turned him to her. Knowing his condition, she didn't expect him to face her directly or even look her in the eye. As she anticipated, he stared at her left ear as she spoke to him, "You are not trash to me, Max. You have a very special place in my heart and that is something no one can take away from you. I have been looking forward to coming back here to visit you since the last time I left."

"Really?" A smile began to blossom on his face as he regarded her ear more intensely.

"Yes! In fact," she released his shoulders as she dug in her pockets for something. At length she brought out a card and handed it to him. "Here is a library card for the one down the street. You can use this to check out as many books as you want at a time and have free access to any of their listening rooms. I know how you love music."

His mouth dropped open as he flipped the card over and over again in his paws, a claw gently rimming the edge of the card on each flip. "This is for me?" He gaped.

"Mhmm." She hummed, ecstatic that he was receiving his gift so well.

"Thank you Murana." He said, struggling with the words, still in awe at his present.

"If you want, I can come by tomorrow a bit earlier and we can go together to the library and pick out some books to read." She promised, eager to keep this trend of happiness.

His face fell however, "Why not tonight?" He asked earnestly, his eyes briefly darting over hers as he fixated on the other ear.

"I was planning on coming today around lunch, I truly was." She groaned. "Things just got hectic at work today and I really couldn't find the time to get here until now. I promise tomorrow I'll be able to visit you earlier, okay?"

"Okay." He replied numbly, looking back down at his new library card. Without moving, he blurted out unexpectedly, "So why haven't you adopted me yet, Murana?"

She was a bit taken aback by his sudden question. She could not prepare an adequate answer for him. Her thoughts immediately went back to Steven at ZNN. She wanted desperately to have another young cub in the house again but she was starting to doubt if she was even able to properly raise such a responsibility. Would she be doing Max more harm than good by taking him into her home? Would she be neglecting him unintentionally as she did with Steven?

"Murana?" He repeated, this time finally looking into her eyes, if only for a moment.

It was enough to startle her out of her apathy. "I'm sorry, what Max?"

Without missing a beat, "It's clear you want me Murana, or you wouldn't keep visiting me like this. No one else comes to see me but you. If you're not here to adopt me, then what are you here for?"

That was another thing she liked about Max, he was very blunt and forward on everything. She hated the fact that she had to deal with many mammals every day who had ulterior motives and had to deduce what they meant through the words they spoke, but with Max, he said his feelings and thoughts plain as day. His question penetrated right to the heart of the matter. Why was she stalling in adopting him? It was clear she had everything she needed to fulfill the legal requirements.

She had a few moments of hesitation before she could gather the words to speak, "It's complicated Max. There are just a lot of factors in my life right now that are denying me from completing the process. The lack of funds and-"

"You are a bank CEO. You don't have a lack of funds." He fired back without feeling.

She winced as she instantly regretted saying that to him. "Look, it's complicated ok?" She exasperated. "I really want you in my home, but I just can't right now." She was fighting for the words to express her intent. It wasn't that she couldn't take him in or care for him; it was if she could actually give him the due attention he needed.

"Then stop coming here if you're not serious, Murana." He said with sadness, setting the library card on his dresser silently. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself on my own."

His words tore at her heart. This was twice in one day that those she deeply loved and cared for rejected her. This was truly an awful day. Feeling the tears starting to form at the edges of her eyes, she got up suddenly drawing a bit of a glance from Max. "Well, you can keep the card Max. That is a gift."

"Yeah…" He mumbled, his voice trailing off as he sunk back into his world.

She sighed deeply, "Look Max, give me until tomorrow and I'll see if I can figure out something to…un-complicate my life okay?" It was a bit too late now she realized, he had already retreated into himself again. The silence that greeted her was deafening. "So…I'll see you later Max?"

After a few more moments, she stifled back a sob before turning and shutting the door behind her. She hurriedly made her way down the hall and into the foyer of the orphanage, her mind no longer focused on the present. Max curled himself into a little ball on his bed and began to idly pick at the corner of his pillow. Why did the pain in his chest hurt so much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ZNN scene was basically a way to broaden the overall world building as well as continue the central relationship established in the first chapter between Murana and Steven. We continue to introduce new characters throughout the chapter, setting up each piece of the overall puzzle that is the core conflict of the story. I had fun diving a bit more into the newly formed working relationship of both Ronald and Murana, dropping in tons of world building in the process that many won't get until a second read through. We get to the most important part of this chapter, in my opinion, at the Tail Hollow Orphanage where we meet Max. He was someone I truly wanted to get right and according to the owner of his character, I nailed him on the first try through writing his scene. It displayed how much Murana is flawed as a character and how much she wishes she could be better for those she wants to love and will form part of the basis for her transformation as we go through the rest of the story.


	3. Monday - The Un-Standard Grind – The First Evening

_Savannah Central - The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A  
_ _Monday – 18:00 PM – Mostly Cloudy_

Murana was exhausted as she stepped off the elevator to the upper penthouse floor of the Red Lion. The day had been a long one and was filled with disaster and heartache. She wanted nothing more than to just collapse on her bed and sleep until it was time for her evening routine. Unfortunately, she could hear the ruckus from down the hall as she approached her apartment door. She groaned inwardly at the sound of several voices beyond the wall. Her husband was not alone tonight.

Wiping away the remaining tears and trying her best to put on a happy face, she unlocked the door and swung it open to reveal Anthony still in his police blouse and uniform halfway through a bottle of beer with his fellow wolf buddy from the precinct beside him on the couch downing one just like it. She rolled her eyes as she saw the expected mongoose fawning over his partner, her diminutive hands roving over the larger mammal’s chest.

“Zoey Javan.” She admonished, closing the door a bit harder than intended, “How many times have I told you that my husband’s work colleagues are off limits?”

The bushy-tailed mongoose smirked at her with a mischievous glint, “I’ve lost count Murana.” She hiccupped. “Besides, I think he likes me.” Murana was almost positive that Anthony’s very presence probably prevented Zoey from removing her white tank top and saggy sweatpants. She had obviously slept the entire day away.

Murana shook her head as she dropped the keys into a bowl on the counter by the kitchen. She figured she might as well join them. She opened up the fridge to see two six packs half gone. Pulling a bottle out and popping off the top, she took a swig before joining the merry crew in the den. They were sprawled out on the furniture, the news on the television reporting on mute the newly formed electrical storm happening that night.

She picked up the indignant mongoose and plopped her on the other side of her husband. “You know he’s too big for you Zoey. He’d tear you a new one and I highly doubt you’d recover.” She took another sip of her beer to hide the fact she was struggling to maintain composure.

“I do what I want, you’re not my mom!” The mongoose decried before skittering across their laps back onto her husband’s colleague’s lap. She was greedily rubbing her cheek back up against the oblivious wolf’s chest spreading his leather jacket apart to get at the undershirt. “He’s all mine. He even said so!”

“I did?” The wolf looked down at the tiny critter.

Anthony smacked his buddy’s arm rather roughly from across Murana. “Yeah Trevor! Don’t you remember?” He practically hooted with glee. “You were on your third beer and she asked if you’d marry her!”

“Let me guess…” Murana deadpanned.

“I did?” Trevor repeated dumbly.

“Congratulations.” She chuckled, taking another drink. “You two look like you were made for each other.”

“I know right? Time to consummate!” Zoey beamed, already trying to unbuckle the poor, confused wolf’s pants.

Murana practically smacked the mongoose off the occupied lap. “That’s enough. We’ll be having none of that here in my own home. You two can take it elsewhere and figure out…how the heck that is even going to work.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

Zoey Javan was a dear friend and neighbor of the Wolfords. Murana had met the lively thing shortly after living in Zootopia properly for the first time in her life over a decade ago. She could vividly recall that day during the Mongoose Market held at Sahara Square every Sunday where she practically ran afoul of Zoey’s legendary temper. In the end, they had become fast friends and ultimately neighbors within a few years’ time.

Although Zoey’s small apartment door was fixed just outside their own in the hallway a few paces down, her living space literally snaked around the interior of the walls of their own. Sometimes Murana could hear the little thing scamper around in her home at night when it was quiet. The only connection between the two suites was a single oval window on its side perched up along the middle of the wall in the living den. Each tenant had to unlock their side of the glass to have her flow freely in and out of either complex.

“Love finds a way!” Zoey purred, crawling up Trevor’s bicep and curling up enticingly by his neck, smushing her cheek onto his.

Leaving the two befuddled newly loves, she turned to her husband with some concern. “So why this little gathering? What are we celebrating? It’s the start of the work week and you’re already drinking before we even hit evening.” She thought for a moment, her eyes wandering over to the schedule on the fridge. “Besides, aren’t you on shift tonight?”

“Oh babe!” He chortled, wrapping an arm around her waist as she waved off his alcoholic breath. “A new guy got transferred today, he’s covering my shift! Besides, Chief Bogo promoted me to Sergeant today and told me I could have the rest of the day off!”

Murana placed a paw on his thigh, trying to be as supportive as she could, “That is amazing honey! See? I told you dressing nice for your job would bring you better opportunities!”

He barked out his mirth, “Hardly. He could clearly see I had the qualities it took to earn the rank and the responsibility that goes with it!”

Trevor snickered, “Yeah, but he’s in charge of only a small team of six!”

She raised an eyebrow at his buddy’s lack of support, “That’s still better than none.” She turned back to Anthony. “I really am happy and very proud of you.” She leaned in and quickly gave him a small lick on the muzzle. “You’ve earned the right to celebrate tonight.”

Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was the fact something good was finally happening today for at least one of them, but Murana felt she needed to relax tonight and enjoy the happy moment with her husband. He was quite transfixed at the sudden display of emotion from her. He was far used to having to wring it out of her bit by bit. Both Trevor and Zoey caught on to the impromptu interaction and began giggling like cubs as they teased the two of them about naughty things.

“Whatever.” Murana rolled her eyes, taking a big gulp this time. “Is it a crime that I should want to kiss my husband when he does well in his job?”

“Define well.” Trevor cackled, holding his sides so much it hurt.

Anthony pointed a claw at him angrily, “You cut that crap off, Trev!” His drunken nature probably getting the better of his reason.

“Easy there everyone!” Zoey stood up suddenly on the wolf’s shoulder. “We’re just having a good time. So let’s just celebrate! More rank means more money! Awooooo!!!!” The little mongoose had started to howl.

“Don’t you dare start Zoey!” Murana made a grab for the little critter, but caught nothing but air as the mongoose quickly switched to the opposite shoulder and began to howl again.

“I didn’t know mongooses could howl.” Trevor was transfixed by the beautiful creature perched just inches away from his face.

“Great idea!” Anthony agreed before howling himself. It wasn’t long before Trevor joined in and there was a trio chorus of howls erupting through the early evening.

Murana grit her teeth hard, struggling to maintain a decent sense of control. The urge bubbled within her breast, wanting nothing more than to escape with wild abandon. Trevor stopped briefly enough to encourage, “Come on Murana, you’ll feel a lot better when you howl! Awoooo!!!!” He was going off again.

“You know you want to!” Zoey leered, sticking her tongue out before resuming.

“This is your fault. I’m blaming this all on yooooooooooooooo!!!!” Her resistance to the instinctual urge failed and she was consumed by the natural need to howl. Their four voices filled the night and enraged several floors of tenants. The phone was ignored on the hook as they howled for what seemed like hours. As their cries echoed through the building, one could hear several other wolves joining in.

At long last, they finally died down, the adrenaline from the howl still pumping through their veins; Anthony threw a fist into the air, “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about, hun! We’re going to let it all out tonight!”

“Preferably in front of us please.” Zoey requested with obvious intent.

Although she couldn’t deny the euphoric effect howling had on her physical body, she hated the fact that she could lose control like that so easily even if she had trained herself to resist the urge to a point. She slumped back into the couch and glared at the mongoose, “I really hate you right now. You better be glad we’re friends.”

* * *

 

_Downtown - Happytown – Near Tail Hollow Orphanage  
_ _Monday – 21:23 PM – Overcast with Occasional Electrical Currents_

Murana lay awake in her bed, eyes locked onto the ceiling of her bedroom. She could still feel the aftermath of their lovemaking as Anthony lay snoring next to her, completely spent. Despite her not being fully into it as usual, she let him enjoy the moment and feel the satisfaction of ravaging his ‘beautiful wife’, as he called her. It wasn’t often they got to enjoy something so nice these days, so it was a welcome reprieve for both of them.

However, she couldn’t rest, not tonight anyway. She lay motionless in the bed, staring at the picture of the two cubs in the red wagon for what seemed like hours on end. Satisfied that the husband was not going to wake up anytime soon, she slipped out of bed, flinching at the soreness in her thighs as she stood up on the grass floor. He sometimes got a bit rough when he was drunk, but tonight for once, she didn’t mind.

Drinking the booze was probably not the smartest thing for her to do tonight. She needed to clear her head. Walking out into the living den, she was a bit taken aback by the fact that Trevor and Zoey were still here. She was about to go back and get clothed when she realized they were sound asleep, Zoey atop Trevor’s abdomen, in the wake of their own aftermath.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” She said mystified at the audacity of her neighbor. She was going to have to force that little bugger to clean the damn place up.

Sighing at her uncontrollable friend, she swept past them into the kitchen and pulled out a pitcher of cold water from the refrigerator. After pouring a glass and drinking it down, she opened up the side pantry door and walked into the small alcove with barred racks bolted into the walls. She knelt down to pick up a few jars of tomato juice before setting them on the counter next to the microwave. She would need these in a bit when she got back later that evening.

Walking over to the front door, she picked up her wallet she had put down next to the key bowl and sifted through it. Finding what she was looking for, she pulled out the small sheet of crumpled paper and began to snap up the clutch. As she set it back down, she jingled the key bowl slightly which caused the mongoose to stir behind her.

Looking up dazed, she mumbled incoherently, “Murana? What you doing up naked?” Lazily waving her arm back towards something random behind her, “You wanna join in this hotness?”

Smiling at her incorrigible friend, she whispered, “No Zoey. Just lay your head back down and get some sleep.”

“Good idea.” She dropped her head with a small tap back onto Trevor, who barely moved at the touch.

Shifting back into her bedroom, she shut the door tightly and locked it. Walking over to the verandah to read the paper in what little light was provided from the outside, she concentrated hard on what it said:

_Mom (scratched out), Murana,_

_Christopher told me that a new drug deal was going down tonight at 2200 in Happytown near the Tail Hollow Orphanage. I’m sure you are familiar with that place because Christopher told me he sees you go there. Your target of interest will also be there overseeing the deal and should be easy to bring to justice. If you’re reading this, then you ignored my plea to stop and I’ll be hearing about it tomorrow morning of his death. This will be the last time I help you. Please don’t call me again or show up at the coffee shop tomorrow. I won’t be there._

_Sincerely, Steven Stinkman_

She crumpled it back up again as she shook in grief and rage at what her son had written to her. On one hand, she was furious at him for cutting her off completely from him, but on the other she totally understood his position and knew that she had hurt him deeply by continuing this course of action. However she couldn’t stop, not until they were avenged. She unfurled it once more and reread it, curious the second time through about Christopher and why and how he’d know of her visits to the orphanage. Wasn’t he just a reporter like Steven at ZNN? Was he following her?

She didn’t have the time to dwell on that thought right now. Time was wasting. She set the piece of paper in the groove of her shredder plugged into the wall inside the closet to remind herself to shred it in the morning before flexing her legs and using the small space to perch her feet on opposing walls to climb up to the ceiling. Pushing up on a slightly visible square that was cut out, she pushed the piece aside and reached up into the dark recess to pull down a rather bulky bundle of clothing. Resetting the panel back into the groove of the ceiling, she hopped down to the grass lightly, careful to not make a sound.

Held in her hands was a suit that she had custom tailored to fit her body by Billy Silva, her supplier and confidant. Unzipping the blood red suit from the front, she quickly slipped her legs in, pulling it up over her waist before reaching back around to unhook the opening for her tail so she could stick it through. Kneeling on both knees, she leaned back before placing one arm through one black sleeve and then the other. Flipping the collar up over her shoulder blades, she finished the main portion by zipping it back up to the neck.

She adjusted and clicked in the maroon bulletproof pauldrons on either shoulder before getting a spindle of hospital wrap to encircle her forearms and elbows. The less wolf fur she could expose to the stench, the better. She buckled the gauntlets on either arm, ensuring the claw extenders rested perfectly across each paw finger. She then began to put on the boots, their soles open to allow freedom of sense and touch for her pawpads.

Taking a small bottle from a bag that Anthony ignored daily, she sprayed a thin coating of stench from Steven onto her clothes, arms, legs and face. The acrid odor stung her nostrils something fierce but she was intensely familiar with her son’s scent and the effect passed quickly. She shivered slightly at the procedure, but knew it was necessary to mask her scent from those who could recognize it during the day. She looked into the bag for more to realize there was not a single bottle left of the pungent liquid. Guess she would have to visit Billy tomorrow to get more.

Buckling on her utility belt, complete with gold plating on the front, she paced over to the mirror in their room. She regarded herself intensely. Was it this that Steven saw the other night? Did he not know this was who she was? What was she to Steven now? A mother or some abomination who he had thought was his mother? Shaking her head angrily, she placed the mask onto her face just above the muzzle, allowing the small adhesive to stick to the fur between her eyes to cover up her identity.

This is me, she thought. This is what the city needs. This is what Zootopia needs. With firm conviction, she took one last look at Anthony, sleeping soundly in their bed, one arm stretched out over where she had once been. With a mournful look, she silently stepped out to the verandah and surveyed the city. Her focus landed on Happytown several miles away, its forgotten section devoid of most of the city lights the rest of the districts shared.

Taking a deep breath, she leaped off the balcony, closing her eyes to embrace the feeling of the wind whipping through her fur. Plummeting down the stories of the Red Lion, she was internally counting in her head. After a few seconds, she reached down to her belt, depressing a button on the buckle to unleash a small grappling hook. Arching her head back to look at the building opposite her, she gripped the roped hook and began twirling it in mid-fall.

Thrusting her arm out towards the opposite structure, it connected with a distended flagpole three floors up from the ground level. Repressing the button yanked her towards the panes of glass, revealing the interior within. She flipped in the air to hit the side hind paws first before letting the inertia of the swing propel her forward, her feet literally running across its surface.

At the apex of her upward momentum, she hit the button a third time, unlatching the hooks from the pole and zipping just the cord back into her belt. Simultaneously leaping off the skyscraper, she vaulted towards the nearest building, clicking her claws once to engage the extenders above her paws. She smacked into the siding, the metal tips digging holes into the material. Without losing a breath, she scrabbled quickly up the side, her metal appendages assisting in the climb.

Cresting the top of the building, she leaped over the edge and launched into a dead sprint across its slanted paned surface. She took each building at a time, calculating in advance the route she would need to reach the one after and the trajectory of her jumps. Reattaching several spare hooks from her belt pouch to the rope, she launched herself across gaps utilizing the arcing swing to clear distances she couldn’t normally.

At length she hit the top of a roof just on the outskirts of Happytown. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she dipped inside a stairwell of one where she climbed up a corner of the room to collect a small bundle she had placed there months ago. Other such similar bundles existed across the city that she had placed specifically for instances like this. With package in paw, she continued her journey to just a block away from the Tail Hollow Orphanage.

With a small pant, she sat down with her back resting up against the roof guard. She rebuked herself for feeling a bit winded from the exertion. She needed to exercise more. She was still too young to be feeling this tired. Unpacking the bundle she had collected, she unhinged all the pieces and began assembling it into a rather lightweight rifle complete with sniper scope. It wasn’t bulky, and its purpose was intended for non-lethal dart rounds rather than a heavier stock of ammunition.

Now prepared, she turned around and got into position with her sights aimed squarely at the building entrance three doors down from where Max was most likely sleeping. She gave his window a quick glance to see that it was still dark. She smiled sadly before refocusing back on the target location. She was about five minutes early from the drop time, but she would be ready.

A small stinging of her nose from an unusual scent diverted her attention from the doorway in question. The storm clouds were getting closer, hovering just over Tundratown. Even from this distance, she could see past some of the skyscrapers to where the bulk of the electrical activity was blasting through the sky. She furrowed her brow as she gauged its rough location to be just over Pale Moon Orphanage in that district. She reminded herself to check in there later tomorrow to see if everything was alright.

Her ears flicked back to the disturbance below as she saw several mobsters in brown trench coats shuffle out from the building. The usual assortment of cats ranging from tigers to lions to lynxes, all members of the Felicity Firmament; a ridiculous name for an all-feline gang that had multiple strangleholds in sectors across the city specializing in drugs. Her ears wilted slightly as she did not see her target of interest.

They snapped back to attention, however, when an ocelot exited the structure with a plush trench coat of tan and what looked like real wool on the interior. She sneered as the spotted cat walked among the taller felines with pompous arrogance. He waved a few times to several of his companions to flank him as they awaited the other party for the drop.

Murana calmly breathed through her nose as she trained her eye down the scope at his despicable face, a scar running down the length of his nose and trailing through his lips. As much as she wanted to plug a dart into his neck, she needed him separated from the rest of the group so she could more easily dispatch him. Having his contingent of minions around would be far more problematic and would not make this job easier.

As she and the cats below heard the white van coming down the street, a small movement out of the corner of her eye distracted her. She saw a brief flicker of grey and black in the opposing window on the eighth floor. Someone was in the apartment directly across, most likely looking at her through the open window. She gauged if she should call off the hit but shook her head in determination; this mark was very elusive and this was as good an opportunity as she was going to get. She re-aimed down the barrel.

The van had pulled to a stop just alongside the curb. She could hear from this distance a window being rolled down. She cared little for what they had to say to each other, just that she could get an opening on the ocelot. The cat moved behind the cover of the vehicle, blocking him from sight. She was patient and waited for him to reappear.

As it seemed the deal was just about done, she was ready to take aim again when she heard a few of them rise up in shouts. She whipped the scope to the right to see some weird looking fox in an orange hoodie and sweatpants bounce off of several of the bigger cats’ heads. Her barrel followed this unknown assailant as he brutally whipped around the felines with ease, tripping some and hind kicking others into submission. Murana cursed softly with thoughts of losing her prey because of this idiot vigilante.

Her eyes narrowed to slits when she saw her quarry break off from the group and begin running towards Tail Hollow. Seizing her chance, she aimed quickly and fired. The bolt went off with nothing but a puff as it zipped through the air, aimed perfectly at the back of his head. It would have connected had it not been for his sudden turn into an alley, causing the paralyzing dart to hit the sidewalk pavement uselessly.

Swearing loudly, she dumped the rifle on the rooftop and sprang off the side of the building. She extended her metal claws as she hit the opposing building’s window frame. Unlatching from the brick, she quickly leapt down from each outcropped sill to ground level where she broke into a run. She hadn’t even fired the gun more than seconds ago when she was turning the corner and enveloping herself in the darkness of the alley.

The ocelot had not gotten far as she could see he was stuck between the brick façade and a fence barrier for the backyard playground of the orphanage, its outer border extending too close for him to squeeze through properly. With rumbling anger, she gripped her claws deep into his flamboyant jacket before ripping him from the small opening and flipping him over her shoulder. The coat slipped off of him in midair, still clutched within her paws. He hit the ground hard, drawing a small moan of pain.

Casting the worthless coat aside, she rounded on him, fangs bared. “You have been extremely hard to find Javier Sanchez!” Without giving him any respite to collect himself, she kicked him hard in the chin, flipping him into a somersault before smacking his face back into the grime and filth of the asphalt.

“Argh…you stupid bitch!” He roared, cradling a bloody nose from that last impact. “Who are you? Do I know you?” Without pausing to wait for an answer he pulled a gun out of his teal vest and fired at her.

Recognizing the motion to his breast, she was already to the side ducking low to disorient his aiming. The shot blast rang out in the stillness of the night, audible only to the incoming electrical storm. She surged in low before digging her metal claws deep into his gut, causing him to whine pitifully. Completing the momentum, she leaned in with her elbow to bring him to the ground. He instinctually went into fight or flight mode as his hind paws came up and began to scratch her abdomen mercilessly. She cried out in shock as the claws ripped through the multiple layers of her outfit and sliced through her skin.

Murana staggered back, holding a paw to her stomach, pulling it away to reveal fresh, dripping blood. She perked up as he was scrambling on all fours towards the gun that had been kicked away. Unwilling to have him get the upper hand, she mounted him swiftly, putting her entire weight on his back as she pressed him into the ground. She wrapped an arm around his neck before yanking up with the other paw to close off his airway.

Javier had a lot of fight still left in him. Snubbing the pain that was scorching his face, he used every ounce of his strength to crawl mere inches towards the gun, his left arm stretching out to just touch it, inches out of his grasp. He howled in rage as he realized he wouldn’t be able to fight against the superior strength of the wolf. Raising her arm high she raked it down into his eyes, drawing a blood-curdling scream as she gouged them out.

Stomping on his spine viciously, she rose up off of him, allowing him to stumble and collapse several times on the ground before her. He shrieked and yowled at his wounds, jamming his paws into his eyes to make the misery stop. Calmly reaching into her belt pouch, Murana pulled out a small, secondary dart round and held it firmly in her paw. She advanced towards him slowly, taking care to keep some distance from him until she could get a good opening in-between his rolls.

Ramming it into his neck, she pushed the plunger on the dart to release the toxin deep into the cat’s bloodstream. Within moments, his movements slowed and then ceased entirely. Casually rolling him over onto his back and moving his head to face her, she serenely rolled her left wrist over to uncork the top of some tubing that ran the length of her interior sleeve. Pressing a button with a paw finger on her right, viscous liquid came out of the end of the tube just at the wrist, coating the entirety of the ocelot’s body. Her ears flickered at the sound of impending police sirens, but she felt she had enough time for this.

“This is a rather curious wax that retains its liquid state.” She began to explain with some satisfaction. “When burned, it has the capability of maintaining the flames for days without ever giving off much light or any visual cues of its existence.” She seemed rather proud of this fact; all the more reason to use it since it attracted very little attention should a bystander be passing by the alley.

She went to one knee before rolling back onto her haunches, taking in the soothing feeling of being able to sit finally. As if talking to a friend, she wrapped her arms around her raised knee before flexing out her other leg to get a few kinks out. Turning her head to regard him, she continued, “You may not know me Javier Sanchez, but I know you. I know Fresia Lorian and Tyler Mason. That single mother jaguar and her young son whom you brutally raped, mutilated and killed.”

If Javier had the ability still of widening his eyes with fear, he would have surely done it. “Now you will feel the flames of their justice as you endure your punishment Javier.” She coolly judged as she rolled over the right wrist and popped off the opening.

She stretched out her left hand and was about to press the button to release flames from below her wrist when a familiar voice behind her halted her movement. “Hands up right where I can see them! Don’t you dare reach for a weapon or I will shoot!”

Closing her eyes in contempt she slowly rose up to full standing height, arms out to the sides. She had to admit, she did not hear the rabbit coming. They probably parked their cruiser back at the scene of the drop and were alerted to the skirmish in the alley by perhaps a local resident who had heard the gunshot. She had little doubt the eager bunny had come running over to see what was amiss, no wonder she was taken by surprise.

As expected, she saw Officer Judy Hopps pulling her vest up to her mouth to speak into a radio. “All units, we have an unidentified…” She struggled with the proper terminology. “masked wolf caught in the process of killing a civilian. Request back-up now.”

“You don’t want to do this.” Murana reasoned peaceably, her voice level. “Just turn around and forget that you saw this.” She knew it was futile, but she had to give the rabbit a chance.

“Not buying it, miss! Hands up where I can see them!” The bunny shouted, pointing her gun closer towards her when she saw Murana lower her right arm back down to Javier.

Officer Nick Wilde and a new recruit she thought she recognized ran up alongside Judy. “What in blazes? Who is that?” The fox exclaimed, his eyes bulging.

“I thought you knew everyone.” Judy jibbed, but kept her serious gaze on the wolf.

“You wouldn’t happen to be…the Dark Flame Wolf would you?” Nick marveled as he actually waved at her. “Pleased to finally make your acquaintance. It’s not every day I meet a notorious vigilante!”

“Officer Wilde, I do not believe this is the proper time to be making friends with the enemy.” The wildebeest admonished. Remembrance slammed into Murana as she recalled Ralph Grayz from the orphanage. He was the new transfer and had taken Wolford’s shift tonight! She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t here to see her like this.

“Well Carrots.” He said standing with his paws on his hips. “Now I can say I officially ‘met’ everyone in Zootopia.”

“Can it, Nick.” She made a motion with her paw to Murana. “Turn around and put your paws behind your back. Officer Grayz, can you detain this…wolf please?” Keeping the gun trained on her, Judy nodded to the gnu.

“Certainly.” He smiled, flipping out a pair of pawcuffs and a muzzle before advancing on Murana.

Playing along for a brief time, Murana held out her paws without complaint, hearing the clopping of hooves get closer. He was almost upon her. The jingling of the cuffs was heard as he opened up the racks. Quickly crouching low, she did a forward flip ensuring that her hind paws hit the underside of the gnu’s chin, snapping his neck back hard. Landing back on the ground just beyond Javier, her wrists were in prime position.

“Goodbye Javier.” She cooed before pressing a button and igniting the ocelot. The barely visible flames spread quickly across his body, unseen to most eyes, but the results on the cat were clearly evident.

“How did she?” Nick looked to Judy before shifting back to Murana. “Did she just?”

Another gunshot went off as Judy fired a round at the wolf. Murana was off and running, reaching the top of the fence with a single bound before clicking her metal claws back out and crunching them deep into the brick. Within moments she was up to the rooftops and was leaping from building to building.

Ralph was just recovering from the assault as he came up sputtering, “What in blazes is wrong with that wolf?”

“Ralph!” Judy commanded, holstering her gun and running past him towards the fence. “Follow us on foot through the streets, I’m going to try and get her down to your level! Nick, try to extinguish the body and get him to a hospital!”

With an impressive display of parkour, Judy hit the dividing fence bar once before launching herself back and forth between the two buildings and reaching the top. She stopped briefly, her nose twitching and her ears twirling. She easily detected the sound of the wolf escaping off to her left. With her target sighted, she dashed off in hot pursuit. “All units, all units. This is Officer Judy Hopps in Happytown with a 217. I am engaged in a foot chase on rooftops heading in the direction of Savannah Central. Converge on my GPS location.”

Without another word, Ralph was already running past Nick, his eyes to the sky as he tracked the two dark silhouettes across the rooftops. “Okay guys! I’ll just…figure out how to put out the fire here.” Nick trailed off as he turned back to the raging pyre that was the ocelot. He didn’t even have a fire extinguisher on hand.

Murana had already reached the high rises of Downtown Central when Ralph realized he could not keep up with the two as he was. He shook his fluffy mane angrily as he brayed, “I cannot believe that you’re forcing me to resort to this! Arrogant, pompous vigilante!” Taking off his police blouse to reveal the swollen wife beater shirt underneath, he collapsed to all fours and began galloping through the streets of Zootopia, avoiding any lingering night-owl pedestrians and cars.

Murana was within range of the ZNN tower, hoping to lose the bunny on its awkward surface. Without proper equipment, the cop would have no firm footing and plummet to the ground below. She had begun to hook up a third grapple attachment to her belt wire when the bunny caught up to her on her right. With a running leap, she crashed into Murana with her hind feet with the force of a piston.

“Stop in the name of the law!” Judy exhaled.

The impact threw the wolf off the edge and down to the streets below. Recovering fast, Murana slapped her claws into wall, its metal appendages squealing in protest at the friction put upon them. She hadn’t even gone several meters when the tips broke off and she began her downward velocity again. Extending her unbroken hand covering, she snagged onto a building outcropping, having it slip between her paws as she hit the next windowsill below before slamming into the dumpster perched just alongside the storefront. A tearing feeling could be felt off her left ear, but she had little time to acknowledge that injury among many.

She groaned miserably as her aching body rolled off the dumpster to the ground with a thump. Shaking off her confusion, she was about to stand tall when Ralph rammed into her side, slapping her back up against the same trash bin. She cried out, tears coming to her eyes from the excruciating throb shooting up and down her sides. She crumpled to the ground, completely wracked with pain all over.

“You ignorant, self-righteous fool!” Ralph thundered, pointing his hoof at her. “No one is above the law, even if executing self-proclaimed justice!”

Judy hopped down from above, dusting her paws off as she saw that the situation appeared to be handled. Fellow sirens were blazing in from multiple corners of Savannah. They would converge upon this location within seconds. “Settle down Ralph. I think we got her.”

Feigning unconsciousness, Murana manipulated her arm, which her body had rolled over, towards her belt to the left pouch, which contained just one grenade. As the rabbit got closer to her, she lifted her entire body weight with one paw before spinning her legs in a wide arc, tripping the little officer onto her rump. With the other paw, she flicked off the activation lever on the bomb and tossed it at the wildebeest. It exploded with mild concussive force, blasting the gnu onto his side. Within moments, the entire air around them was consumed in a cloud of noxious gas.

“What the heck is that!” Rhinowitz shouted as he pulled up and got out of the car, trying his best to hold his nose and get right back in.

Judy hacked her lungs out, lurching forward on all fours. “It’s skunk spray!” She exhaled, her lungs were on fire. Her noise burned like the heat of a thousand suns. She was in agony.

Shutting the door swiftly, Rhinowitz got on the radio, “All units, we have a 10-53. Two officers down, please assist.”

The last thing Ralph could manage to utter before passing out from the stench was, “Where did that wolf go?”

* * *

 

_Savannah Central - The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A  
_ _Monday – 23:54 PM – Overcast with Occasional Electrical Currents_

It had taken nearly an hour longer to get home that evening. Murana pitched inward into her suite, shivering and miserable. She had doused herself in a running fountain just outside the central roundabout in front of ZPD headquarters to remove the reeking smell of skunk. It still lingered on her outfit and exposed fur however. Noiselessly shutting the glass door to her balcony, she bolted through her bedroom to avoid having the persistent scent disturb Anthony to the point he’d wake up and find her like this.

Cursing herself for leaving the stupid tomato juice cans out on the counter, she whipped into the living den and snatched them before leaping into the bathroom just off the master bedroom. She thought she heard a squeak from the couch, but decided it best to just get into a place of safety to undress and shower. She had not expected to use her smoke bomb tonight. In fact, this night did not go at all according to plan like it usually did.

Finally secured and locked into the rather robust wash closet, she whimpered as she cast off the mask to the floor and unzipped the front of her suit. She breathed in rapid gasps, whining at the pain of gingerly unfurling her top off her wounds across her stomach. The lacerations had temporarily glossed over with a bright red film but were still very much fresh. The throbbing in her sides was reaching an unbearable pitch. She would probably be limping around the rest of tomorrow after this.

It was a laborious process of removing each article of clothing and utility, but she managed to do it. She had to contain her small moans of pain as she rubbed the tomato juice all throughout her fur to remove the scent of skunk. She clapped a paw over her mouth as a yelp escaped when the acid from the juice hit her cuts. Grimacing at the sound of a body moving in the next room, her mind spun trying to think of some story for cover.

“Babe? You here?” Anthony was still half asleep.

“Yeah! I’m here!” She called out from the bathroom.

“Is everything all right? It smells awful.” He commented, drawing a few skips of the heart from Murana.

“Yeah…I’m fine!” She blurted out. “I just ate something really bad tonight. It’s really going through me!”

“Okay, well just spray good before you come to bed, okay?” He mumbled before flopping back over onto his side and passing right back out.

Relieved that one disaster was averted, she continued to massage the juice throughout the rest of her body. She flipped the shower on and left to let the water get warm before attending to her outfit. She wrinkled her nose at the putrid odor her senses could see visibly rising up from the suit. She opened a towel cabinet and took out a plastic bag before stuffing all of them into the scent proof container. She’d have to launder these tomorrow in an offsite location to avoid suspicion. She probably would have to get Billy to stitch up the front however.

A small glint in the mirror over her vanity caught her eye while walking towards the now-hot shower. Her pupils dilated as she realized what it was. She bunted up against the counter, leaning close towards the mirror to see a small tear in her left ear where an earring had been. Her right pine tree-shaped earring was still intact. Did she not remove them before leaving that night? Was it dropped somewhere during the scuffle? It had even lost its perfect smell!

Angrily taking the remaining piece out, she tossed it in the bag with the rest of her stuff. She’d just have to have Billy discretely dispose of that piece when she saw him tomorrow. She stood there gripping the sides of the vanity, on the verge of tears. That was a present to her from her son, and she went and lost one piece tonight because she was too stupid to bother remembering to remove them before heading out.

Whapping a fist hard into the counter, she moved to the shower and rinsed both the smell and the juice out of her fur, the scalding water actually pacified her wounds. Stepping out, she rubbed herself down with a towel, dabbing the parts where she hurt. Positive she had hidden the bundle of stinking clothes up into the ceiling nook in the closet well enough. She replaced the panel and hopped back down.

Murana rolled into bed beside her husband, delicately wrapping an arm around him. Listening to his snores, she thought on what a terrible day it had been. Her company was still tittering on the verge of bankruptcy unless that otter could actually fix things, her most loyal assistant tried to kill her, her own son practically disowned her, Max not wanting anything to do with her unless she’s serious about adopting him, and now losing one of Steven’s earrings while accomplishing a botched mark.

It really had been a shitty day. Maybe she should fix things with Steven tomorrow; maybe he hadn’t meant what he wrote in that letter, and she’d seem him again at Snarlbucks. She could also make good on her promise to Max as well. Tomorrow will be a better day, she told herself. She curled up closer to Anthony, pulling the covers tighter around her neck. Within seconds she was gone, with nothing but the rumblings of the electrical storm raging outside their windows filling up the silence of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After setting up a few more additional characters to the reader for them to keep track of at the start of the chapter, we finally get to the real meat of it and the primary draw for Murana's character, her vigilante exploits in Zootopia. I knew I needed to get the entire sequence down perfectly - Since this was the main draw of her character to many a reader or fan of her artworks: this initial exploit of her going out to hit a mark was essential to get just right. It was planned meticulously to showcase exactly just how deadly and efficient she was. However, to subvert expectations, I also made her partially fail at the task by having a third element enter her usual routine and completely derail everything, thus enabling me to work in more canon characters back into the story and further cement it's place in the Zootopia universe. It was most fun setting up all the little plot macguffins throughout this portion that will come back to bite Murana in the butt. In the end, I feel this was a most satisfying way to end our first day with our new protagonist.


	4. Tuesday - A Darker Forecast - The Second Morning

_Savannah Central – The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A  
_ _Tuesday – 05:58 AM – Overcast Skies / Light Sprinkles_

The stifling incense permeating the air was blocking her senses, creating a fog that clouded her mind and suppressed her unbridled panic at being in this place. She could hear the chanting down the dark stairs, lit only by candlelight. Her mother was roughly pushing her down the steps, nearly tripping her several times. She reached the bottom and continued to nervously hold the candle she was forced to carry herself, taking extra care not to let it go out for fear of having them punish her again.

A paw tightly gripped her shoulder and she was abruptly turned into a large basement room where the source of the incantations was originating. Multiple mammals of varying shapes, covered from head to toe in black robes, stood in a circle around a central altar built from wood. Each one was holding their own light and continuing the droning as they brought her to the forefront of the group. She was smaller than most of the participants here, being a young pup herself.

The group parted way for her and her mother, revealing a small wolf pup roped down to the legs underneath the table, struggling to free himself, but to no avail. Her heart wanted to go out to her brother and tell him it would be all right, but she was kept rooted to the spot by the firm hand of their mother. A larger canine stepped forward from the rest and the chanting ceased as the two pups stared at each other in petrified terror.

"May the ceremony commence my brethren." The deep voice resounded, pointing first to the fox next to him.

"Mommy?" The female pup quivered. "What is he going to do to him?"

Her question was greeted by silence. Her eyes were rapt on the figure before her as the fox split his robe open to reveal his form. The pup's eyes grew wide as she saw what was about to happen. She screamed and cried in unison with her brother as each mammal in the group took turns. She twisted and writhed in her mother's grasp, requiring an additional set of paws to keep her in place as her heart yearned to be with her brother. At long last it was finally over, both siblings crying together in their separate places.

The larger wolf signaled his mother to move the young female forward. "My dear." He intoned gruffly. "You may baptize your brother in the holy water that bonds this covenant together."

Sniffling, she looked up to the wolf and then back to her mother who stood expressionless, giving her nothing but a nod to continue. She hesitantly padded over to her brother, taking a shaking paw into her own, their tears melding together. "It's okay little brother. I'm here now. I'm going to wash your wounds and make it all better." She lowered her voice so that only he could hear her, his eyes focused solely on hers. "And we're going to run away from this place, just you and me."

Taking the proffered container of water, she began pouring it over him. Her nose became irritated as she was halfway done with pouring the liquid onto her brother. It was more viscous than water, and it had a pungent odor. She had halted the pouring when a paw tipped hers and sloshed the remainder all over him. Taking her firmly by the arm, her mother pulled her back into the circle of mammals.

"Mom!" She whined. "That isn't water! What are we doing? Let him go!"

Without a second to prepare herself, the lead wolf threw a lit match onto her brother. Her blood-curdling wail pierced the night as Murana rose up screeching from her bed, Anthony being thrown off the mattress as Trevor and Zoey burst into the room at her awakening. She was frantically thrashing through the bed sheets, getting further tangled up in them as she was screaming for them to get off of her.

Anthony was upon her in a second, grasping for her shoulders to shake her awake, deftly avoiding her claws as she swiped about trying to attack anything that drew near. "Baby! It's me! Anthony! Murana, wake up!" He shook her vigorously.

Her eyes snapped open, seeing nothing but a male wolf looking down at her, a mixture of concern and determination in his eyes. She snarled loudly before thrusting him off of her and pouncing on him, her claws trying to maul his face. It took all of Trevor's strength to hold Murana back from killing her husband. Zoey scrambled up Trevor's leg and arm before leaping onto Murana's shoulder and smacking her hard in the muzzle. It seemed to work, as her focus shifted to the tiny mongoose, and the haze of murderous intent left her eyes.

"Murana!" Zoey chastised, "Get your shit together!" She propped her fists on her hips, looking rather perturbed at the wolf for having disrupted her beauty sleep atop her hunky Trevor.

Murana immediately sagged in Trevor's arms as she was taken to the bed to lie down, a massive headache suddenly springing to life in her skull. The wounds from the night before began to flare up with a vengeance as she began to moan in agony at the throbbing pain coursing through her body. She rolled over onto the bed to bury her face into her pillow, wanting nothing more than to sleep the rest of the day away. Her day was not so kind.

Climbing back up onto the bed from the floor, Anthony put a comforting arm around her waist, scooting in a bit to better spoon her side as he whispered lovingly, "Another bad dream again, hun?"

She shook her head into the pillow, "They're getting worse."

His expression looked pained; he felt useless and unable to help his wife. "I could talk with the chief and see if he could let you come in and talk to our counselor. They do have a family and friends program we could use."

Murana moved her head slightly so she could be heard better, "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. It's just a dream after all."

"Yes, but it's not going away…" He then noticed her wincing as he slid his paw up and down her ribs. "Babe, you hurt? Was I too rough with you last night?"

Not wanting to shift onto her back and reveal the stomach lacerations from Javier, she raised her snout just above the pillow, "Nothing that won't heal by the end of the day." She did her best to grin at him, fighting back the urge to leap away from him as he continued to apply pressure to her back.

He looked up from her, satisfied that she was at least okay, and noticed their two friends stark naked beside the bed staring at them. He waved a paw off in their direction, "Go on, get dressed you freaks!" They both smirked as they saluted, Zoey hopping into Trevor's arms and allowing him to carry her out of the room. Anthony called out to them with sincerity as they passed the threshold, "Thanks again guys for helping me with her."

"No problem!" Trevor shouted back.

"Think you'll make it through the day today, Murana?" He expressed genuinely, switching to her formal name for once, which caught her attention immediately.

She held his gaze, "Yeah, I'll be all right."

Consternation developed on his muzzle as he regarded her, "I really wish you would open up to me. I'm your husband. That's what I'm here for." He gave her the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

She snickered into the pillow at his attempt at giving light to the serious situation. "You goof…" She looked over her shoulder at the door where her friend Zoey had departed. "Is it too much to ask for you to brew me up some coffee? That might make me feel better."

His laidback demeanor returning, Anthony slapped a paw on her ass, giving a nice squeeze to the base of her tail. Oblivious to her grimace at the pain he had caused, he hooted, "Of course babe!" He gave her a wiggle of his brow and a knowing look, "Maybe some white chocolate macadamia?"

She couldn't help but share his mirth at his eagerness to get back into the sack with her before the day had even begun. She pushed him by the muzzle away from her, "Get out you big lug and go make my coffee!"

Anthony chuckled as he bounced off the bed and walked over to their bamboo closet, shifting the curtain aside to pick out his uniform for the day. He sniffed a few times before remarking, "Hey honey, did you forget to spray in the bathroom last night? It smells really bad over here."

Her head shot up from the pillow. She gawked over at him to see him exploring the closet with his nose. A small bubble of panic formed in her gut that he'd find her suit. She belted out a bit more forcefully than she would have liked, "I'm sorry! I completely forgot to do it last night. It was late and I just wanted to get some sleep. I'll take care of it before I leave."

Wrinkling his nose, he shook his head. "That's gross, honey." He turned back to his uniforms and had a paw hovering over one of his casual t-shirts. After a moment to think, he moved to his formal blouses and pulled one out, thinking it was probably best to look professional for his wife like she had asked.

Murana could hear the shuffling of her friends out in the den getting dressed and hopefully cleaning up their own mess. Limping over to the closet herself, she put on a fresh set of garments and a loose fitting suit that would lay easier on her fur so as to not aggravate the injuries. Confident that she looked presentable, she did her best to stand tall as she swept into the main living space.

Trevor was already tightening the buckle on his pants before flipping a jacket over his arms and pulling them through in one smooth motion. "Well Tony, I'll be heading into work in a half hour after I get washed up at home. See you in the station later." He cast a glance at the still naked mongoose, who was leering at him the entire time he got dressed. "You got my number?" She nodded leisurely, prompting a sheepish grin from the wolf as the other two stared at this exchange. "Call me."

With an abrupt straightening of posture, he saw his way out, letting the penthouse door close gently behind him. Murana walked past Zoey, giving her a small whap on the back of her head, "Would you please get some clothes on? My husband is in the room." She gestured curtly to the mongoose's lower section.

The unflappable mongoose let out a raspberry as she hopped down from the coffee table to scrounge around the apartment floor to find the various articles of clothing that got thrown off in the turmoil from the previous night. "Right, like he hasn't seen plenty of those already." She snarked, picking up her sweatpants that had amazingly cleared the entire room.

Dismissing Zoey, Murana turned to Anthony, who had just delivered a steaming mug of coffee directly into her paws. She accepted a small peck on the cheek from him as he went about putting on the remainder of his uniform. He had just left their bedroom a second time when she noted his nose sniffing in irritation. "Honey, did you spray Steven's scent in our bathroom?"

Feigning any knowledge of that, "I have no idea what you are talking about, dear." She brought the mug to her lips and drank some of the rejuvenating liquid.

With sudden anger, he stabbed a finger at her, "You're lying! I knew I recognized that scent! Was Steven here last night?" He began looking around the apartment trying to see if he was hiding anywhere. "You know how I hate him sleeping around my feet!" He gave an involuntary shudder. "His little rodent fingers and nose touching and sniffing my paws, it's creepy! I don't know how you can stand it! Is there even a reason he does that?"

A loud bang echoed across the room, the sound of a coffee mug slamming onto the kitchen counter. Zoey paused in mid-dress, poking an eye out over the collar of the shirt she was yanking onto herself.

With arms crossed and tail swishing in agitation, Murana rebuked immediately, "He is not a rodent; he is my son. The only reason I made him leave our home was to honor you as my husband and your request to have space to ourselves being that he was old enough to live on his own. If I had a say, he would still be here with us, sleeping at our feet and taking comfort in the fact that he is loved and wanted here."

He barked a laugh, rising to the occasion of her ire, "He's not even your real son! He's just some stinky skunk you picked up from a musk mill that you couldn't find the parents for!"

She slammed a paw onto the counter, "I don't care if he's not mine by blood. I paid for the paperwork and I raised him for the last ten years of my life when no one else wanted him!"

Anthony threw his paws up, "He's been nothing but a hassle since I married you. He stinks up the apartment on a whim, hogs you all to himself and gives me these little death glares every time I'm around him. Even my colleagues at work make fun of me that I have a skunk son."

"So you're embarrassed to have him as your child." She responded with ice in her voice. "You're embarrassed to be married to a wolf that has a skunk for a son. You are embarrassed of me."

He slapped a paw to his head, growling in frustration. "That's not what I meant!"

Murana's tail stopped moving, "So what exactly did you mean, Anthony? That you don't approve of your wife and her choices with whom she chooses to adopt? You were his father for the short amount of time he was here in our home when you married me. You should have gone to him and bonded to him in a way I never could have. Instead, you chose to be immature and childish about it and took offense to his very existence here. Now he doesn't even care who you are anymore."

Anthony slouched on the backing of the couch, looking defeated. "Murana, I'm sorry. I feel we got off on the wrong foot here."

"You think?!" She snapped.

Holding a paw out to her in surrender, he pleaded, "Look, I just felt crowded from day one with that skunk. All that time dating you, I never felt there was anyone else in the world but me to you. The moment we got married, I realized how wrong I was. I feel like I'm second wheel to you two and like I'm fighting just to win your affections."

Steven probably doesn't think so right now, Murana thought. Dashing the memory away, she refocused on Anthony, "You don't have to fight for anything. I agreed with you and deferred to your authority by convincing Steven to move out. What would have helped prior was your willingness to love him as you love me."

Getting a bit perturbed that it all came back to that skunk, he glared at her, "Look, I know you are sad about not having him around anymore, but we're going to get a new cub in the house now. We both know we've been trying hard these past few months to make a baby. I'm excited to bring a new life of our own to-"

"I'm barren." Murana said flatly, drawing a blank stare from Anthony. Without waiting for a response, she pressed on, "The doctor told me months ago. I cannot bear children."

It took him nearly a minute to process, his mouth hanging partially open. "Was it…because of the abuse you've told me about?" He ventured a guess, still in shock at what he had just learned. He knew very little of what had happened to her when she was a cub, but never could get the whole story out of her. Starting to get a bit angry over being denied this revelation, his voice rose, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Does it really matter now? Even if I could conceive, how could I truly trust you'd love this cub any better than you did Steven?" She shot back, her expression cold.

The gravity of the situation hit him like a sledgehammer in the chest, forcing him to catch his breath. "You mean we'll never have any children?" The thought of that skunk being the only thing to carry on his name seemed laughable, ridiculous. Why was this happening to him?

Not caring at this point what her husband thought, she dropped the next bomb. "Oh, we will. Whether you are here to be a father or not to them is debatable. I've been to Tail Hollow Orphanage several times now and I believe I've found my second son. A raccoon named Max."

Anthony curled his nose in disgust, "Another freaking rodent? What is it with you and these mammals? Why can't we just adopt a wolf cub like a normal-"

He had no time to react as she closed the distance and slapped him hard across the side of his face. "Max is not some rodent trash! He isn't even a rodent! If you won't support me in helping young, troubled boys live and grow in a happy home, then I don't need you here."

His eyes bored daggers into her own, but she did not relent. At length, he got up from the couch without a word, grabbed his patrol cap gracelessly and stormed out the door, making sure it slammed hard on its hinges, rattling the entire room. Murana didn't even bother to turn around to see him leave, she was so agitated and distraught at what had just transpired that she couldn't bear to think about anything else but calming her own breathing.

A small movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to leap over the couch, using a paw to assist her across its width. She landed mere feet away from Zoey, who had an odd look of both surprise and disappointment. "Zoey?" Murana exhaled, withdrawing her claws. "I thought you had already left!"

"And I thought my best friend wasn't the Dark Flame Wolf!" The mongoose riposted, hands on her tiny hips.

Flustered at the sudden shift in topic, Murana had to take a few mental steps back to process just what she was being accused of. "I'm sorry?" She asked at last, trying to give herself time to come up with a suitable explanation.

Cocking her head at Murana, Zoey accused, "Yeah, don't think I didn't wake up to see you all dressed up in some crazy costume bringing in some of the worst stench I had ever smelt in my entire life! I had heard reports for years about some crazy nighttime vigilante going bat-shit crazy and burning people left and right, and this entire time it was my best friend who couldn't even bother to tell me it was her! Looks like Anthony isn't the only one being lied to here."

Heart skipping several beats, Murana wasn't sure how much Zoey was willing to compromise, given their long friendship together. She could technically turn her in, knowing who she was, and that would be the end of her free life in Zootopia. Hoping that cooler heads would prevail, she relaxed and stood up a bit taller. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to get anyone involved in my nighttime ventures. If I was ever caught and my connections with my family and friends were traced back, they could have legitimate plausible deniability of my actions."

"I get that, you idiot!" The mongoose marched straight up to Murana and smacked her across the shin, drawing a small growl. "What I'm trying to say is I don't give a donkey's ass about them coming after me to interrogate me about you. I'd lie through my teeth if I had to. I'm more appalled that my best friend is burning mammals to a crisp, even if they did deserve it!"

Murana looked away angrily, "They did deserve it!" After a pointed look from Zoey, she rumbled, "You wouldn't understand!"

Raising both hands in mock surrender, Zoey chided, "Fine, it's none of my business how you get off these days. You want to burn people for shits and giggles, be my guest. Just don't expect me to have your back when all you do is go around and murder people. Burning them alive? Even I'm not that cruel!"

The large wolf scowled at the tiny mongoose, "That's not how I operate! You know what? I don't even know why I'm having this conversation with you. I need to get ready for work."

"Fine! Run away with your tail between your legs! Doesn't change the fact you have been lying to me for years now!" Zoey yelled, hopping up onto the couch and then onto its backing to get onto a higher level with the retreating wolf. She jabbed a finger at Murana, "I mean, I know I'd tell you if I had anything crazy going on in my life like that! We've known each other for what? Twelve years now? Heck, we even shared a few mammals between us!"

Murana gritted her teeth as she gripped her keys from the counter dish hard enough to draw blood in her paws, "I was a different wolf back then. That isn't me now."

"Clearly!" Zoey huffed. "Where is that fun Murana I knew and loved? Clearly not standing here before me! All I see is a cowering liar and murderer who hides things from those she supposedly trusts the most."

"Get out." The words came before the thought was processed, but the intent was clear.

"I wish I could say you better be glad we are friends, but I can't." Zoey sulked, sliding off the backside of the couch before climbing up a nightstand to the glass door opening to her small apartment suite. "I may not have the heart to forgive you for this."

Although the mongoose wanted to slam the barrier door connecting their two spaces, she closed the glass lightly and clicked the lock. Without knowing why, Murana was already heaving from anger, rage, despair and resentment. She didn't really know how she felt. Her own friend just denounced her, and her husband left on a bad note. It felt like everything was falling apart around her and she was being abandoned yet again.

She collapsed to her knees and wept.

* * *

 _Savannah Central – Snarlbucks – On the Corner of Screech Ave. and Pride St.  
_ _Tuesday – 07:00 AM – Overcast Skies / Slight Rain_

Murana struggled hard against the flow of tears that threatened to erupt at any moment. Realizing that her eyes were probably bloodshot from the flood this morning, she avoided looking at any mammal directly as she subconsciously wove through the streets and alley shortcuts to get to her favorite café place. The thought at the forefront of her mind was that somehow just seeing Steven would make it all better, that seeing his smiling face and him calling her mom would alleviate the entire morning's pain.

Excusing herself as she sidled past a few customers in line going out the door, she strode into the shop, her eyes surveying the booths. Landing on their familiar spot, her heart danced unsettlingly at it being empty. There were no cups of coffee ready to drink, no backpack and no skunk. It was simply empty; immediately filled by several hippos who stared at her oddly as she gawked at their new seating arrangements.

She scanned the entire café in hopes she could spy some hint of black and white, her eyes settling on a very luscious tail that looked and smelled oddly familiar. Pacing over, she faltered a few steps closer when the skunk turned around and it was female. After a moment and a head tilt, she recognized the skunk as the same girl she had asked to keep Steven company the previous morning, complete with a belly-showing top and scratched-up jeans.

Noticing Murana staring at her, the skunk stopped in her tracks, having finished doctoring up her drink at the small sidebar. "Hello…may I help you?"

The shock of Steven not being there for her today was beginning to tear at her sense of reality. Too many things were unraveling and she was instantly reminded of his note that she had taken yesterday despite his misgivings of even offering it to her. Closing her eyes in regret, she recalled what it said, that he would not be here had she taken the note. Grief was threatening to overtake her.

Seeing that something was clearly wrong, the skunk took another step forward, extending a paw to see if the wolf was alright. "I'm sorry, are you okay, ma'am?" Recognition dawned on her face as she remembered her. "Ma'am? Are you the one with the skunk for a son from yesterday?"

Fighting back the tears aggressively trying to overwhelm her, she sniffed and did a curt nod at the skunk. "Yes, I am."

The polecat's paw immediately shot forward, surprising Murana in its unexpectedness. "The name is Courtney! It's a pleasure to meet the mother of such a wonderful son. I'm even more awed by the fact you decided to choose a skunk of all mammals to adopt as your son. It makes me even more interested in getting to know him better now!"

A bit taken aback by the extreme praise, Murana cautiously extended her paw and shook Courtney's. "Why would that be hard to believe that I would adopt a skunk?" Having lived with Steven for years, she had barely given it a second thought that it would be odd to others that she had a skunk for a son. She loved him for who he was, not what he was.

Courtney's eyes bulged at Murana's response, "Are you kidding? How long have you lived in Zootopia?" She immediately caught herself, suddenly realizing she had spoken a bit too loudly as several patrons turned their eyes onto them. Lowering a few octaves, she spoke a bit normally, "Sorry, I guess I got a bit excited there." She gave a bit of a giggled snort before continuing, "I guess I was just surprised that you asked me to talk to your son and it was another one of my kind."

She cocked an eyebrow at the flattering polecat. "One of your kind? Why would that make a difference?"

Courtney shook her head, almost blushing, "Nothing. I'm sorry…guess I'm just stumbling over myself. You must be a cool mom to be a proud parent to Steven." The name left her lips like a lovesick puppy on the summer's breeze. She had gotten his name out of him on their first meeting yesterday morning and she had been thinking about him all that day.

"Yes…yes, I am." Murana managed to utter, regaining her composure. She turned to look around again after releasing Courtney's paw. Have you seen him this morning by chance? I was expecting him to meet me here." She didn't want to seem desperate in finding her son, so she tried her best to appear nonchalant about Steven's disappearance.

Not to appear rude to the mother of her potential future husband, Courtney turned to the side to take a small sip of her coffee, nodding her head briefly as she confirmed its taste and quality before rotating back to Murana. "Yeah…I was kinda hoping to meet him here again myself. I'm probably just as disappointed as you were when I found out he wasn't here. Last I saw him he was on his way to work, the Zootopia News Network building."

Murana's brow rose as she shot a look at the skunk, "Impressive. You already know him by name, know where he works and probably got his phone number too."

A slight flush hit Courtney's cheeks as she glanced away with embarrassment, taking another sip from her coffee. "Possibly."

Murana had to shake her head with admiration at this determined skunk. When she had tagged her to go talk to Steven the day prior, she hadn't meant for the poor girl to fall head over heels for him. Yes, it was true she was trying to get him out of his comfort zone and find a girlfriend and potentially settle down for a family of his own, she just didn't realize she might have picked a real go-getter this time.

Courtney's eyes shifted back to wolf, "Look, I really appreciate you introducing us. He is a sweet guy and now that I've seen what a lovely wolf he has for a mother, I'm more excited than ever to become a part of his life!" Her eyes flashed with a glint of longing, her thoughts distant at the remembrance of her meeting with Steven.

"Thank…you…" Murana accepted haltingly, now unsure if this particular skunk was the right one for her son.

Courtney seemed a bit on the aggressive side with potential clingy, stalker tendencies. She barely met the girl and the vibe was strong with this one. She had little time to ponder the thought when her ears perked up at the sound of two voices entering the café. Swiveling to the entrance, she spied her husband Anthony entering the line with a fox that looked vaguely familiar.

Murana's ears flattened as her eyes narrowed to slits. This was the last place she wanted to meet her husband right now, let alone that fox buddy of his whom she now recognized as the one from the previous night's escapades. Knowing it wouldn't be long before she was either spotted or smelled, she had to excuse herself quickly from the chatty skunk before her. It already seemed to be an impossible task to get her to shut up.

"…So, I was very ecstatic when he handed me his number, just like that!" She tittered again, plowing on as if Murana's attention was still focused solely on her. "I mean, sure, I thought it was quite forward of him to just give me his number, but who was I to argue, right? Uh…ma'am?" She looked at Murana quizzically as she began to notice her increasing lack of interest.

Raising her ears to appear less aggressive, Murana shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm sorry, umm...Courtney, was it? Something just came up and I really need to get going. Work related duties and all that."

Courtney made a brush through the air with a paw as if she was in complete comprehension, "Of course! Of course! How silly of me. I should have known better, you are quite the busy wolf. What, with being the CEO of Lemming Brothers Bank and all."

Freaking hell! Murana swore internally. Was there nothing that Steven didn't tell her?! This skunk could be an excellent interrogator without even trying. Dropping all sense of etiquette, she turned on a heel and began threading through the crowd of patrons, taking a circuitous route through the store to avoid coming within paces of her husband and his friend.

"Well, well, well!" Came a snarky voice, filled with mirth. "Anthony, I do believe I have spotted your better half!"

Anthony growled as he glared at Nick Wilde, who seemed nonplussed at the aggression. "Really? I don't see her anywhere." He lied, trying his best to avoid another confrontation.

"She certainly looks better than you." The fox ribbed, smacking Anthony's arm with the back of a paw as he laughed heartily at his own humor. His audience was not amused. "Seriously though, you been lying to the department doctor again about your eyesight? You know that's a retireable offense." Seeing as he was not going to get any further with him, Nick turned and waved down Murana as she was flitting past several hippos. "Mrs. Wolford! Hey! Hello! Yes you, the insanely smelly wolf in the back!"

"Nick...!" Anthony warned, but it was too late. He could see his wife's eyes close in frustration as she turned to them. The encounter was inevitable now.

"Are you sure you're not smelling yourself?" She said coolly, crossing her arms as she strode up to the two of them, looking down her snout at the cheeky vulpine.

"My lady," He began with faux offense, "I would not dream of going to work smelling of…" He began sniffing the air a bit around her. "…essence of skunk." His nose twitched as the scent triggered a recent memory. Before he had a chance to act on it, Anthony pushed him aside.

"Stop smelling my wife! That's not cool!" He chastised. "That's personal!"

Nick shrugged his shoulders as he backed off. "I'm only smelling the front end, besides, I got the impression you didn't seem to care much about her this morning."

"I'm sure he doesn't." Murana piggybacked, her gaze now shifting over to her husband.

"Lay off, will ya?" He scowled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear." A small finger followed swiftly by a paw rose up between them as Courtney inserted herself into their conversation. Immediately that paw began to pump Anthony's vigorously. "I heard you are Steven's dad now? Two wolves adopting a skunk! This is even more amazing than one!"

"Congratulations, Dad." Nick teased. "I'm sure she'll be an excellent addition to your wonderful family. May she be fruitful and provide many skunk grandkids for you two!"

Anthony violently ripped his paw away from hers, eliciting a bit of a shocked cry from Courtney as Murana gripped her firmly by the shoulder and moved her to the side behind her. "Alright, I think I'm just about done here. If you are that adamant about my decisions and whom I choose to love and bring into our home as our children, then maybe it's best if you don't come home at all tonight."

Nick's grin faded instantly as he saw that the situation was more dire than he had assessed. "Anthony, I may not be an expert in relationships, but now would be the point where you'd grovel."

Ignoring the sputtering of her inept husband, her ears perked up as her attention was diverted to the news broadcast happening on the television perched just above the small bay windowed seating area overlooking the street. On the screen were firefighters putting out massive flames as pieces of a building structure collapsed in on itself. Multiple mammals huddling together as they staggered out of the entrance, covered in soot and grime.

The familiar leopard anchor, Fabienne, was reporting live from the scene, "…And as you can see, we have yet another orphanage devastated by these electrical storms. You can see behind me children and caretakers being evacuated from what was once Pale Moon Orphanage right here in Tundra Town. As of yet, they have not accounted for all the young tenants of this once prestigious establishment."

"I have to go." Murana said abruptly. "I'm late for work." She absently excused herself, promptly leaving the three of them in her wake as she unceremoniously left them awkwardly standing together staring at each other.

"I can see where Steven gets his temper." Courtney mused, looking at Anthony.

"That would explain her perfume today." Nick commented, looking at Courtney.

"I'm going to be sick." Anthony grimaced, looking at neither of them.

Not bothering to hear any further remarks, Murana was already out the door and on the streets. Dodging and weaving with the best of commuters on their way to work, her sights set solely on the ZNN tower several blocks ahead, past the ZPD station. Taking the more congested areas would probably take her up to half an hour, but knowing the alleys like the back of her paw, she could probably reach ZNN that way in half the time. Confirming her course of action, she dipped past an oblivious porcupine couple and down a rather grimy backstreet seemingly crushed between two buildings as if it was an afterthought.

She was nearly there until her eyes met what her nose perceived several seconds prior: three badgers bunched over what appeared to be a purse they no doubt mugged from some poor, unsuspecting victim. One of them spotted her and immediately called out to his brethren. She was already midway down the alley. Judging from their size, they could close the distance before she could get back to the main thoroughfare. She was locked into this altercation. Steeling herself against them, she stood tall with her legs spread firm.

"Oy! Hey there, little lady! What brings you to this part of town?" The center badger drawled with a thick accent, the other two fanning out to the sides past the nearby dumpster to close off her flank.

Murana snorted as she saw the diminutive mammals. Although they were nowhere near her height, she knew she couldn't underestimate them. Badgers could be quite vicious. "I don't think the word 'little' means what you think it means." Murana retorted; crossing her arms as she casually assessed the situation.

"Are you scared?" The badger on the right threatened, trying to appear larger than he was.

"Hardly." Murana answered truthfully. She was already figuring out a game plan in her head.

"Looks like we got a cocky one here, guys!" The one on the left sniggered, a knife already being brandished. "So, what you got for us? With your finely pressed outfit, I bet you must be carrying all sorts of cash and jewelry! Come on, cough them up and we won't hurt you…much!"

The center one eyed her up and down, tinkering with a tooth with his blade, a glint in his eye. "Unless you have some other form of payment for us to take." He leered.

Murana sneered, her lip raising to reveal her row of teeth. What disgusting vermin. "That'll be the day. Come claim it if you feel male enough to take it." She boasted, a hind paw sliding back a small distance, in preparation for their first move.

The right one bristled at this and snarled. "Get her, guys!"

Sliding her paw the remaining distance, she dropped to a knee, surprising the leaping badger as he sailed over her back. She immediately flipped around, snagging the unfortunate critter's tail in midair, claws digging in violently. Flouting his yelp of pain, she pivoted on her knee, leaning to the side to avoid a swipe from the left badger and his knife. Completing the movement, she slapped the first badger with his buddy, barreling him over onto his rump.

Flinging the brock like a sack of trash, the small body hit the nearby dumpster lid with a grunt. It rebounded and landed in the bags of refuse inside, the lid jarred from its open position, slamming shut with a clang. Her paw reaching deep into her suit pants, she slit open the interior lining with a claw before pulling out two kunai that were fastened inside the seams. With the two of them flipped up between two of her fingers, she dove back into the fray.

The previous badger who had brandished his knife was already upon her as she slammed her fist into his muzzle, the sharp blades sinking in like slicing butter. Blood spurted as he cried in agony before being lifted up by his head and smashed down on the other side of Murana. She cried out in pain at the stretch she had to do to flip him over, her stomach lacerations reopening in the process.

She had finished kicking the now immobile corpse of her kunai as the final badger slashed savagely at her face, as she crouched to recover from her wounds. He had nicked her nose and crimson sprayed on the street. She howled in fury as she dug her blades upwards deep into his skull, bypassing the lower jaw bone. His eyes rolled up into his head as she screamed in rage at him, pulling the weapons out, taking care to wipe them clean on their dingy clothes.

The brock left standing in the dumpster peeked out, his eyes bulging at the brutal scene before him. She barked at him, "You better sit your pretty ass down in that trash where you belong if you want to live."

This prompted an abrupt bang as he dropped the lid back onto himself. Murana cursed her luck as she felt something wet oozing from her stomach. She exerted herself a bit too hard. Maybe saving time getting to ZNN wasn't such a good idea after all, but she needed to see her son. Limping now from the reopening of all her pain receptors, she whined all the way to her son's place of work, taking care to hide the kunai and not appear as if she didn't just get assaulted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew that we needed to delve a bit more into Murana's past and explore the darker themes behind why she does what she does. The horrifying dream expanded upon the hints we picked up from the first day and helps illuminate some of her motives and the decisions she makes in the coming arguments. For Murana to get to the specific place in her character arc for this story, I knew I needed to rip out the supports of her family life and put her in vulnerable positions, both physically and emotionally. The loss and abandonment of everyone around her that she loves was intentional to get her to a point where future decisions and mistakes make sense and have a far greater impact on her. Reintroducing Courtney was a needed element here. She was originally supposed to be a throwaway character from day 1, but I ended up having a far better idea for her later on. Finally, the fight scene at the end served a few purposes, one of which was to display just how lethal Murana still was, even while injured. Which would make a future scene later on that much more shocking. Note: Surrika Tunnah was changed to Zoey Jovan because the owner of the original character removed their permission for me to use.


	5. Tuesday - A Darker Forecast - The Second Midday

_Savannah Central – Zootopia News Network Office Building – Corner of Elm and Birch_   
_Tuesday – 08:50 AM – Overcast Skies / Slight Rain_

The familiar ZNN spire piercing the sky greeted her eyes as she rounded the bend of the nearest building. Trying to not limp as she held her stomach lightly, she did her best to not let her white blouse touch the reopened gashes. The last thing she needed was a dark stain of red seeping through her fabrics and inviting all sorts of unwanted questions. Her singular goal was to just get into the building, find her son, talk it out and leave. She didn't want complications.

Squinting at the harsh, reflective glare from the sleek window siding of the impressive structure, she entered through the twin sliding glass doors into the foyer, knowing just where she was going. She cringed as she heard the jovial voice of Andy Lagopus, who seemed to have a knack for knowing when she was in the building.

"Mrs. Wolford? Mrs. Wolford! How lovely to see you! Please, if you have a moment?" He called out, his pressed suit brimming with pride as it fell upon his tiny physique. His smile was contagious, but she did not have time to indulge in whatever frivolities he had in mind.

Without even turning her head in recognition, she hurried up the escalator to the second floor balcony and rushed towards the elevators. She had just turned around and pressed the button calling the carriage, getting in quickly as the doors opened. Her eyes darting out between the dual doors to see Andy's face, now with a bit more concern as it appeared he might not make the elevator. With a rush of relief and a satisfying whine on the other side of the closed doors, she leaned back against the railing of the elevator, looking out the wall window to soak in the breathtaking view of Zootopia as she rose up the floors.

Murana barely registered that she had reached her intended floor as the doors slid open, a few hyraxs ambling in, looking up at her curiously. Excusing herself hastily, she swiftly passed by them into the maze of cubicles. Traversing down the left side, she turned to the target destination to find the small space empty. Steven's hat and camera were gone. Not even his little vest he sometimes wore to keep warm on chill days was on the back of his seat. His scent wasn't even fresh in the cubicle, like he hadn't even bothered to come into work.

She sagged heavily on the dividing wall, its frame creaking under her weight. She groaned in agony as the stinging returned, her paw gingerly clutching her abdomen. Panting profusely, she focused on pushing through the pain and ignoring the screaming cuts from Javier the previous night. Curse that stupid cat! She should have been more cautious around him. She had completely forgotten about their instinctual flight or fight response. She was stupid.

Her nose twitched at the familiar scent wafting down the rows of workspaces. Her lip curled as she recognized it. The odor belonged to a specific maned wolf she had the displeasure of meeting the last time she was here. Ears flicking at the subtle shift in sound and cues, she could tell he had picked up her scent as well and was making a beeline straight for her position. It wasn't long before the knowing smirk came into view, complete with trademarked orange hoodie.

"Christopher was it?" She forced a smile, her memory not failing her. Doing her best, Murana straightened up to full height and looked down at the smaller maned wolf. "Do you know where Steven went?" She asked, trying to herd any superfluous banter.

The wolf casually leaned up against the divider, crossing both his arms and a leg as he looked at her indifferently. "Chris, actually. But yeah, that's me. Glad to know you at least remembered my name."

Murana shrugged, matching the wolf's blasé faire attitude. "It was the least I could do for one of my son's 'friends.'" She ended with specific emphasis on the final word, drawing an expected response from Chris, his ears folding back with irritation.

Doing his best to overlook her jab, "But no, I have not seen Steven. In fact, he hasn't been in all morning. He usually is pretty prompt at showing up to work. I was honestly hoping you could tell me more. Sometimes I really worry about that stinker."

Seeing his expression soften at his genuine concern for his coworker, she opened up a bit more. "That is a bit worrisome, yes. He didn't show up at our usual meeting spot at our favorite café."

His ears perked back up, "You meet with him daily?"

Murana shrugged, "More or less. We haven't been meeting as frequently as we used to, but I don't complain. As long as I get to see him once a week, I'm usually pretty content."

Chris cracked a small smile, "That's honestly really sweet." At a look from the larger wolf, "I'm being serious. I'm not trying to tease here. Look, I think I didn't make the best first impression yesterday. You just seemed to have rubbed a raw nerve and I lashed out. I apologize."

Sensing his sincerity, she responded in kind, "Well, you treating my son the way you did was doing you no favors." At a grunt from the maned wolf, she nodded before continuing, "Nevertheless, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. So you said Steven didn't even show up this morning to work?"

He scratched his chin absently, "Apparently. He usually is here a bit earlier than I am most days. He's pretty dedicated, that one."

"Of course he is. He's my son." Murana snorted, as if it was plainly obvious.

Chris gave her a curious look, "Well, he's almost always on the front lines, always going for that big scoop or story that'll get him on television." The wolf chuckled a bit, "Probably why he got promoted to video journalist recently. Granted, he probably would not have gotten as far as he has without his good pal, Chris, here to help him out!" He finished with a satisfied smirk, a thumb pointing at himself.

"Oh really?" She shared his mirth, but not necessarily the same intent. "Do tell."

"You mean he didn't tell you?" His grin broadened, "I'm the one out there pounding the streets and giving him the tips and info from my buddies in the hood. Places he's a bit too scared to go to and report on."

Murana raised a brow at his boasting, "The hood?"

"Yeah, I was raised on the rough side of the street growing up. Got involved in a few gangs, but ultimately got out of it and decided to make a name for myself here at ZNN." Chris shrugged it off like it was no big deal. "So now I just use my connections with some of my old pals who may still be working the rackets and underground gangs. In exchange for not ratting them out, they help give me valuable information on the really bad dudes in town, ones that nobody wants around because it's bad for business."

Murana rubbed her jaw a bit at this news. Was this where Steven was getting all these leads from? It would explain how Steven knew exactly where certain deals and meetings were going down all across Zootopia. Having an insider mammal would definitely be helpful. "So if you are so entrenched with these folks, why not use this information to your advantage and get the promotion yourself?" She questioned.

The maned wolf picked at a fresh scar on his forearm as he rolled the arm sleeve back down over it, "I'm not much for being famous myself. I prefer to stay out of the spotlight, but my buddy Steven? I feel like he's a little brother to me, you know? Gotta help the little guy out."

"So selfless of you." She remarked, hiding a smile. "Well, I've got to get going before Lagopus discovers where I'm at. It's been nice meeting you again."

"Hey, hold up!" He motioned with a paw, ensuring she stopped, turning towards him. "If you do find him, could you give him this lead I have? I know he's been following this string of assaults for a good while and is building quite the exciting serial rapist case."

Murana's ears rose with interest. "Exciting, huh? Well, I'll pass along the information as soon as I see him."

"Right then." Chris clicked his tongue and slipped into Steven's cubicle. He snatched a pad of sticky notes and took a pen out of his hoodie pocket. He hastily scrawled an address and time as well as a few names onto the small square sheet before tearing it from the stack and handing it to Murana. "This is the location of a pub he frequents, just on the east side of Tundra Town and the most common times of week he'll be boozing it up."

She studied the information with some surprise, "A sheep? Living in Tundra Town and accused of multiple rape cases? I'm surprised that the ZPD haven't gotten ahold of him yet. Quite the odd suspect."

"I know right?" Chris cackled. "But it is what it is. Hopefully he'll find this information useful and maybe it'll get that sheep that much closer to being caught when this story gets out!"

"Oh, you can bet on it." She nodded; a peculiar glint in her eye as she stuffed the sheet into her blouse pocket.

Chris began to sniff a bit more and looked down at her stomach. "Mrs. Wolford? Is…everything alright?"

Following his gaze, she beheld a small dark spot that had seeped through her undershirt and began its visible spread across her outer suit coat. She sputtered slightly as she excused herself, "Ah…if you'll excuse me, I do have to get going. Thanks for the information though! I will hand it to Steven the moment I see him. Later, Chris!"

He cocked his head oddly as he stared off after the larger, retreating wolf, unsure if he should follow to see if she was okay or not. At length, he shook his head, confident that he had passed on what he had intended and headed back down the rows of cubicles to his workstation.

Murana has just reached the elevators as the doors opened and greeting her was the sparkling visage of Andy Lagopus, his face brightening at her appearance. "Mrs. Wolford! So glad I finally caught up with you!"

"Shit!" She swore under her breath, just before she dove to the side and made a quick sprint to the stairwell just yards away.

The last thing she needed was a lengthy chat with the loquacious vulpine. She slammed the door open, hearing it bang against the concrete wall. Immediately vaulting over the railing, she aimed for the opposing side three floors down. She cried out as her injuries stretched open further, causing her to falter in mid-leap. She thumped against the railing, abdomen first, as her upper body curled around and gripped the metal tight.

"Mrs. Wolford? Oh, good heavens! Are you all right?" Came a voice high above, a silver fox looking over the center opening. "I'm going to call an ambulance right away! Why on earth would you do that?" He marveled with confusion.

"That's not necessary!" She gasped, fighting back tears as she scrambled over and onto the cold, tiled stairs. Rolling onto her back, she raised her head to look down at the widening spot diffusing across her middle. She let her head drop and took several deep breaths as she moaned in misery at her wounds. "That's not necessary…" She said again with a whisper.

With considerable effort, she rolled over onto her hands and knees and got herself back up onto her feet. She limped the rest of the way down the stairs, blessed that Andy had not followed her advice and went to call an ambulance anyway. She was just heading out one of the side emergency exits of the ZNN tower when the ambulance pulled up front. By the time they reached her blood trail in the stairwell, she was well on her way to her bank.

* * *

_Savannah Central – Lemming Bros. Bank Corporate HQ – 44th Floor, Executive Offices_   
_Tuesday – 10:36 AM – Overcast Skies / Steady Rain_

Murana stumbled out of the elevator, nearly bowling over several lemmings in the process. Some were staring with bulging eyes at the little droplets of crimson trailing after their hobbling boss, a few getting on their phones to take pictures for their TailChat accounts. Murana's mind was not on her appearance at this very moment, her singular goal was to get to her office where she could have access to a fresh pair of clothes and some medical supplies she kept tucked away for emergencies.

Gripping the handle of her office door, she stumbled in, the frame rattling as it bashed gratingly on the opaque glass wall looking out into the main working space. A small squeak emanated from beyond her desk as a pair of round spectacles rose up from behind the monitor of her laptop. Her secretary, Ron, had been typing away furiously on the computer before being interrupted. The first thing she noticed was a strange, intoxicating scent in the air, but that was the least of her concerns; she needed to get herself fixed up quickly.

"Oh, hi Boss!" Ron beamed happily, adjusting his glasses on his nose before pushing the chair away from the desk and hopping down cheerfully, waddling around it to greet her formally. He stopped in midstep as he detected her growing stain of cerise that had all but drenched the front of her blouse. "Holy anchovies! Boss! What happened? Are you all right?" He surged forward, his paw going into his pockets digging for some unseen object.

"Stop!" Murana raised a paw, warding him to stay where he was. "It's fine…I just got mugged by some low lives down by the local Snarlbucks. I'll be fine, just get me to the desk."

Ron raised an eyebrow as he slowly brought out a phone from his pocket, "Are you sure, Boss? You don't want me to call the ambulance?"

"Most definitely." She exhaled, collapsing onto the small otter, drawing a surprised squeak from him as the phone flung out of his paw and clattered to the ground. With considerable effort, he managed to help her to the desk as she literally crawled across the floor, her legs dragging along the carpet. "Thank you."

"Well, if you reconsider," The otter continued sighing, untangling himself from her arm as he moped over to his cellphone, a nice splintered crack across its surface, "we can get the paramedics here right away. You don't have to work in your condition, I can handle the bank today. You know what? I think I will do it anyway."

"No!" She practically yelled, a deep growl in her voice as her head pivoted to him with menace, causing him to stop his finger midway to the touch screen. She dropped an octave, "No, I have what I need here to fix myself."

Without another word and the curious otter looking on, she used the desk to limp around to where her chair was. She fell into it with another whimper, her hind paw hooking a claw into the desk drawer handle and pulling it open. She leaned forward and grabbed a few bits of thread and needle. She pulled out a small bottle of 150 proof vodka, its glass exterior clinking with other bottles of similar liquors. Without thought of propriety, Murana ripped open her blouse, revealing her bare chest and stomach beneath.

"Oh, oh my…!" Ron stuttered as he quickly flipped around. A flush hit his cheeks as he tried to look mighty interested at what was happening outside her office door, shooing away various lemmings that had stopped by to look in on their boss.

Ignoring the bashful proclamations of her secretary, she slammed a fist on the desk, shaking the monitor violently as she poured the alcohol on her reopened lesions. Gritting her teeth, she threaded the string through the needle head before tying a knot and biting off the excess. Panting hard at the exertion and pain, she shakily aimed the needle tip at the top of the first wound before diving it in through the flesh.

Several lemmings outside dropped their papers as an overheated printer exploded from misuse as Murana's howls echoed through the office. She began crying at the torture, but knew it needed to be done. Over and over, she strung the string through her skin, criss-crossing the thread to help force a tight seal when she pulled the two ends together, closing up each wound in turn. At long last, she snipped the last excess with some scissors from her desk before slumping into the chair, exhausted and tired.

Rocking back and forth on his heels, Ron was muttering softly to himself for a time until he noticed that her cries of torment had finally stopped. He dared a peek over his shoulder to see her drooping behind her desk, taking a huge chug from the bottle. "Boss? Is everything all right now? Is it safe for my virgin eyes to turn around?"

She snorted in response, setting the liquor down, "Please, Ron. Something tells me you've been around the block a few times."

He bristled at this comment, "I'll have you know…"

Putting another paw up, she stopped him, "I'd rather not know. Your declarations of purity aren't important right now and besides your eyes clearly aren't virgin anymore." She groaned with a half-hearted smile at her bad joke before lifting herself back up to sitting position, stripping the rest of her shirt and outer coat off, causing Ron to flip right back around. "Ron, I know I'm your boss, but stop being proper right now and go get me some new clothes. They're in the wall closet right over there." She indicated as she dabbed the fresh blood off her wound with her soiled clothes.

Noticing where she was pointing, he pushed his round glasses back up his face. "Ah, right. Of course."

He was unusually silent this morning, having been thrown completely off balance by the damaged appearance of Murana and the complete lack of modesty with regards to her situation. Not wasting any time, he walked over to the wooden paneling of the wall opposite the mounted television and felt around for the handle, pulling the sliding hidden door outward and revealing a row of hanging suits that she kept on hand in case of emergencies.

"Did you want the blue, beige, purple or green?" He called out, his nose deep in the fabrics to prevent having to view her naked torso.

"I don't care." She called back, swiftly doffing her ruined suit pants and kicking them over to the trash can next to the plant, almost making it in. "Just pick one and give it to me."

Randomly picking the purple, he climbed up onto the lower door mechanism to reach up high enough to pull the entire two-piece suit down, almost falling over from the sheer awkward weight of it. Pulling it along after his tail, he lifted it up for her to grab it from him as he turned away to maintain a sense of professionalism in what appeared to be a completely unprofessional situation.

"I know this probably wasn't what you expected when you woke up to drink your coffee this morning." Murana chuckled as she gratefully took the offered suit and began unbuttoning the front. She motioned with a finger for him to turn around, which he did without much prompting. "So, to help bring us back to normalcy, tell me what you've been up to this morning."

Thankful that he finally had something to occupy his mind, he began rattling off his day, "Well, if you remember from yesterday how we linked our offshore accounts and split the money between all the accounts? It seems we've recovered most, if not all, of our business investors overnight. I was in the process of divvying up the newly deposited money amongst the accounts and subtly moving the offshore funds back where they came from when you came in."

With pants and shirt on, she was finally looking more like her normal, CEO self. She stretched out her arms through the suit coat before buttoning the top button on the front. "Thank you for following through with that, Ron. Already in 24 hours, you've been more useful to me than Trudy had been in years." Her nose began to twitch again at the inebriating scent wafting through the air. "What is that smell?"

His eyes brightened up at this. "Ah, well I figured I could surprise you with a nice morning brunch, Boss!" He practically hopped up onto the desk, wobbling over to a big, white bag that she had somehow now noticed sitting on the corner. He reached down into the bag and pulled out a covered plate of food, the smell now permeating the entire office.

Murana cocked her head at the recognition of the scent, "Ron…that smells like chicken. Don't tell me…"

"It is!" He smiled triumphantly, lifting the lid off and revealing a succulent drumstick and breast piece, the steam barely visible rising from it.

Her look was less than approving as she took a step toward it, her tongue unconsciously licking her chaps. "There is only one place I know of that sells something like this and it isn't a place that most mammals go, Ron. Don't tell me you went…beneath the streets for this."

"To the Nocturnal District? Of course I did. You can't find a nice piece of meat like this on the open market in Zootopia, right? I figured as an appreciation gift for hiring me on such short notice and for the best boss I've had, you deserve a surprise!" He seemed positively proud of himself, almost raising a paw to his chest to grab his vest collar, if he had one.

Situating herself back down at her desk, she eyed the chicken with obvious interest, "First off, it is very dangerous down there. The last thing I need is my freshly minted secretary to have some unfortunate death befall him while getting me this extravagant meal. Second, this is quite the illegal form of meat to be eating in public."

Ron's ears wilted as his shoulders sagged, "You don't like it?"

She raised a finger to silence his disappointment, "I'm just not liking the methods and location where you might have gotten this. How did you know about how to even get this?"

"How did you?" He riposted back without hesitation.

"Touché." She raised an eyebrow before pulling the meat towards her, lust evident in her eyes. She stopped briefly, her eyes glancing over at the open office door. "Ah, would you mind closing my office? I'd rather not have my workers get the wrong idea about me. The next thing I know, they'll be spreading picturegrams of me photoshopped eating their friends and family. They're afraid of me enough as it is. Let's not add more fuel to the fire, shall we?"

"On it, Boss!" He was a bit giddy, very eager to shut the door, nearly tripping over his webbed paws as he made his way across the room.

Murana was ecstatic, she hadn't set foot in the Nocturnal District in years; some rather unsavory events transpired that she had no incentive to return to anytime soon in that district. It was a known ordinance in Zootopia that most types of meat were prohibited outside of fish, bugs and other synthesized products. She had all but given up ever going back to one of her places of youth and enjoying the forbidden fruit, as it were.

She drew in a deep breath, letting the scent infiltrate her nostrils, just as she scrunched them up upon seeing the crusted, seasoned skin of the chicken. "Ron, do you like the skin of chicken?"

"The skin? It's almost like a guilty pleasure of mine." He smacked his hands together on a job well done of closing the door, walking back to her with a pleased look.

"Good." She said flatly, ripping the slim casing off the breast and drumstick before handing it off to him. "I rather dislike it. Something about its texture gives me the shivers."

"Oh…" His ears dropped again after being handed the sagging husks of skin. "I'm actually not fond of this type of seasoning they used, a bit too spicy for my tastes. May I?" He started towards the trash can with her discarded suit pants.

She shook her head, nodding instead to the bag on her desk top. "Just pop it in the bag if you don't want it. Thank you though." She lifted the drumstick to her mouth and took a bite, her eyes rolling back in her head as she moaned with pleasure, "This is heavenly."

An odd mixture of smile and frustration flashed across Ron's face, "I'm glad you like it, Murana. Care for something to drink?"

"Okay, now I'm starting to think you're buttering me up for a promotion already." She barked a laugh. "Look, I appreciate all this pampering, especially after having seen me come into work like that, but this is not going to get you any brownie points with me. You still need to do a good day's work every day for a long time to come before your first evaluation period."

The grin came back on his face, "I wouldn't dream of that, Boss. I know full well my performance matters more than my gestures of goodwill. Give me a moment, I'll be back with your drink."

She bowed her head in agreement as he moseyed off to get her mug, opening and shutting the door behind him as he sauntered over to the coffee pot. With no one watching and her stomach growling something fierce, she threw caution to the wind and began devouring the remaining chicken without thought for manners. Leaning back in her chair, she was content with her belly full. She had almost nodded off to sleep when she was jolted by Ron's entrance holding a stack of papers in one paw and a hot, steaming cup in the other.

Murana's face nearly sagged as she saw the huge pile of documents in Ron's paw. "Was that all from yesterday?"

He confirmed with a nod of his head, "Indeed it was, Boss. There was a lot of money transfers and relocation of assets to make it work. Now is the time to back it all up with a paper trail so that it looks like it came from your desk that it was approved."

"Do I need to sign every page?" Her ears drooped further.

His expression did change to one of empathy for her plight, "You are the boss. Unless you give me the power to sign these in your name, this all has to come from you."

Gripping the stack with a shaky paw, she let it flop onto her desk with an audible thud. Resigned to her fate for the rest of the day, she flipped out a pen and clicked it open. She was moving to sign the first page when she saw Ron set a steaming cup next to her. "What's this?" She asked, noticing that it wasn't her usual mug.

"Just a small present that I felt would brighten your day!" He looked pleased.

She picked it up and turned it around, reading the words: '#1 Boss!' She raised a brow at him, "You are really determined on this brown nosing, aren't you? Thank you for the thought, but this doesn't score you any extra points for a raise."

"I know, but did it make you smile at least?" He pressed.

Unable to contain the smirk, she grinned as she brought the mug up to her muzzle, breathing in the fresh scent. She stopped as it touched her lips, Ron watching on with interest at seeing her enjoying his gift. Pulling it back, she stared at the liquid, "Ron, what is this?"

"It's tea! One of my favorite brands too! Earl Grey black tea. It is bold, yet subtle. The perfect pick-me-up in the mornings after a rough sleep! I felt you could use the pep up." He explained, paws clasped behind his back.

Her snout wrinkling, she stood up and walked over to the lone plant in the room before flipping the mug over and dumping its contents into the dirt. "For someone who says he likes to know whom he works for, you sure didn't research enough. I prefer coffee over tea leaves and water."

"Oh…my apologies then. I wasn't aware of your strong distaste for tea." Ron looked genuinely hurt by her disgust for his favorite drink.

"No matter." She said matter-of-factly, sitting back down in her chair and setting the mug aside. "I do appreciate the mug and if it'll make you feel any better, I'll continue to use this mug for the future, all right?" With a gloomy nod from the otter, she revitalized her demeanor and handed the laptop over to him. "Please continue with the asset relocations and let's get everything back in the offshore accounts by the end of today, if we can."

"I'm on it, Boss." Ron responded, maintaining a happy face yet still not overly thrilled with how his morning presents turned out.

Settling into a rhythm, she listened to Ron tapping away on the keyboard as she took one page at a time and signed off each money transfer. She was used to signing paperwork for certain transactions, but never on this scale before. Trudy truly did do a horrible number on her bank. This level of legality was unprecedented and it annoyed her greatly. There had to be a way to automate all this in the future and she was determined to set her freshly hired secretary to figuring out a way of solving this problem.

Bored after about several dozen sheets, she flipped on the flat panel TV to the local news channel. Peter and Fabienne at their usual positions were reporting on the local stories of the day. Ron looked up briefly before continuing his task, the television nothing more than background noise. Several more minutes passed by in silence before Murana's ears perked up at a specific story that had come up on the news.

"And in a shocking development last night," the female snow leopard began, "the notorious criminal gang leader of the Felicity Firmament is in critical condition today as he was attacked during a drug bust late last night in Happytown. It is being reported that the ring leader, Javier Sanchez, was nearly burned alive by what is told to be a nighttime vigilante. He is alive at this moment and is in intensive care at Mercy Hospital. We'll follow with more words as the situation develops and the investigation continues."

The topic shifted to something less interesting, but it was enough to concern Murana greatly. She continued to sign the papers, not really noticing that her hind paw was tapping with increasing urgency on the carpet. Thoughts swirled through her head about Javier. That fox cop actually managed to put out her fire on the ocelot, quick enough to save the wretched cat's life. Her job remained unfinished and he was still alive, in intensive care and most likely under guard and surveillance. This was going to make things far more difficult.

Deciding on a course of action, she snapped her fingers, motioning with a paw for the laptop. "Ron, give me the computer, I need to type up something real quick please."

"Of course, Boss. Anything you need." He said quizzically, curious as to what she had in mind.

With intensity, she whipped up an official-looking document using a pre-existing template. She sent it off to the printer out in the main, lemming cubicle farm. Sweeping past Ron, she left the room and came back quickly with a lone sheet of paper in her paw. Signing it quickly, she handed it over to him. He gave it a once over, his countenance growing dim with each passing word read.

He looked up at her from the floor, "Boss? You're giving me ability to sign in your name?"

"Yep!" She smiled broadly, showing her row of teeth. "You said it yourself, that brilliant idea! Thank you so much! You've been extremely useful as a secretary. Keep up this pace and you just might get that raise sooner rather than later!"

She turned to leave but he called out, "Wait! Are you going to be coming back later on today?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she looked down at her secretary, "Not sure just yet. I do have a lot of errands to run and there is no telling how long each of those will take. So to be on the safe side, just continue working like you won't see me again until tomorrow morning." She waved before heading towards the door, turning around briefly to look at him. "Thanks again, Ron, for the brunch this morning. It was very delicious. Just don't…do that again without me accompanying you. I'd rather you not get hurt on my behalf in that neighborhood. I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself." She grinned before leaving, her tail swishing behind her.

"You're welcome, Boss." Ron murmured, his tail thumping on the floor. Frustrated, he looked up at the huge stack of papers awaiting on him. "Oh, screw me up the bass. This is going to be a long day." He exhaled, defeated.

* * *

_Savannah Central – The Fox Den on Roaring St. – Against the Tundratown Border Wall_   
_Tuesday – 12:02 PM – Overcast Skies_

Murana was thankful that the drizzle had stopped by the time she left her bank. With her supplies and tech running a bit low back at the homestead along with her vigilante suit being damaged on top of that, she needed to restock and recoup from her losses before handling Javier. The noon time lunch rush was in full force as she bumped and jostled her way across downtown towards the northern border wall that led into Tundratown. Sewing up her injuries helped tremendously in staving off the pain as she sped through the foot traffic.

The buildings on the northeast side weren't as shiny or as inviting as those in the city center just a mere stone's throw away, but they were still a far cry better than anything found in Happytown. There was far less debris and cracks in the pavement and sidewalks as the crowd thinned the further she got into the suburbs of Savannah; too small and too close to downtown to be registered as its own district, but too big to be referred to as anything else. The ratio of prey to predator became wide as tigers, foxes, wolves and more could be spotted slumming it on the sidelines, leaning up against rundown fencing, puffing on cigarettes and giving her leering stares.

Her goal was fixed straight ahead of her. A rather squat building butted up against the monumental wall bordering the next district over, the clear, chill frost visible in the air just beyond it. The brick and mortar façade was nothing to write home about, but for those who were privy to its interior, it was home to one of the hottest, unadvertised night clubs in Zootopia, The Fox Den. Primarily a predator-only establishment, it wasn't unheard of to see the occasional prey looking to experience a wilder side of nightlife.

A large, giraffe-printed truck was parked on the curb just outside the establishment, the back sliding door rolled up revealing rows of beer cartons. She smiled as she saw a familiar figure backing up down the metal ramp, two heavy crates in his arms. He was a fox, but unlike any she had ever met in her life. He was slightly taller than most foxes in Zootopia, nearly matching her size despite being the runt of the litter. With a primarily orange coat and white-furred front, he had a unique pattern of brown that encompassed his entire right ear and left hind paw and just the tip of his left ear.

Murana shook her head as she followed him into the building at a distance, watching him bop and groove to the headphones perched on his head. It was definitely a newer model, but the same old fashion style that he always wore. The vulpine sported a gaudy, red and black, plaid button-up shirt and a nice set of beige cargo pants. She had to admit, he had certainly beefed up since last she saw him; his shirt open down the middle revealing his six-pack abs and brown chevrons gracing his abdomen. For a fox at least, he was quite the specimen now.

The club was the same as before, nothing really had changed since she last set foot into the place. The bar and counter on the left held the same liquors as it did a decade ago, the stools before it carrying the same creases and holes in the upholstery. The huge rave dance floor lay bare and empty with perhaps a new coat of polished tile instead of the vinyl that once adorned it. Multiple seating and private booths lined the curving wall to the far edge of the dance space, each sheltered by a curtain one could draw closed. Then there was the DJ block up at the podium overlooking the floor and rave cages hanging from the ceiling. Beyond that led to the secret club rooms where less reputable things would happen.

Bathed in neon blue and pink lighting lining the trey ceiling covering the expanse of the dance floor, Murana followed that white-tipped tail all the way past the main business area and into the back store rooms. She trailed after the clinking sound of bottles, ending at last to the cooler door, pressure-sealed to keep the chill air in and the booze cold. She couldn't help but admire the swaying rump of the fox, watching it flick it back and forth in tune to whatever music was going on through his headphones.

Having settled the current crates of alcohol, the vulpine hit a rather egregious set of beats as he backed himself out of the fridge room, bopping his bum in rhythmic fashion. Murana shifted to the side to let him pass, but he suddenly swiveled backwards down the hall and bumped his tail right up against her front. His eyes closed and lost in the music, he spun around, grabbed her hips and began grinding against her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"AJ, stop. Stop! Stop! Stop!" She tried pushing him away before batting at the headphones, knocking them off his ears and causing them to slip midway down his neck.

"What the hell, Cynth-, oh, Murana! What are you? Why are you? How are you doing?" He said, trying to recover, his anger dissipating the moment he saw who stood before him. Realizing where his hands and hips were, he let go and backed up several paces.

"What's the matter, fox? I've never seen you that speechless before. Cat got your tongue?" She simpered.

He guffawed, "Hardly. I haven't dated one of them in a long while." After a curious stare from Murana, he cleared his throat and scratched his head. "So how you been? It's been forever."

"It has." She managed to smile, shaking her head. "Seems like little has changed here."

"Well, I've changed. I'm hurt you didn't notice." AJ seemed mock offended, doing a not-so-subtle flex of his newly formed muscles. He only stood about a head shorter than Murana, abnormally tall for his species, but he was a bit more decked out in rippling biceps and well-formed pecs easily seen through his unbuttoned shirt.

"Oh, I noticed. Kind of hard to miss such a beefcake like you." She snarked, turned around to walk down the hall, forcing him to walk alongside.

"You like?" He flexed some more beside her, adjusting his headset around his neck. "Been working on my form. You should come to the gym sometime with me, you might like what you see."

"Really? I almost assumed you were compensating for the last time I laid the smackdown on you during an arm wrestling match." She threw back without hesitation, keeping her grin.

"Babe, I had yet to hit my prime. I'm in the peak of my life now, something you've clearly passed." He chuckled at his own joke. His expression dropped the moment he saw her stare at him. "Ah…look, I didn't mean-"

"Yeah, you did. I'm old by your standards, I know it. You were just hitting 20 and I was some hot, older female that was available and willing to enjoy some younger tail. Now that I've passed my prime and you've moved on, I'm no longer desirable." She folded her arms and glared at him, her tail fidgeting angrily.

"It was a bad joke. I really didn't mean it like that. You are still desirable to me." AJ tried to recover.

Shrugging, she dropped her arms and kept walking. "I don't know why I felt saying hi to you again was a good idea. I should have just went about my business and went straight to Billy."

"Billy? I thought you had stopped seeing him a while ago. Thought you had dropped all that…nighttime business." He paused, as they turned the corner into the main client space, overlooking the DJ stand.

She stopped to look at him, "You know that isn't true. You've watched the news."

"That I have." His face showing genuine concern. "You know I still care about you, always will. I worry about what you do at night. That one day I'll see your body on the news, abandoned in some gutter."

"All the more reason for me to see Billy." She explained. "To get the things I need to keep me alive while I do my job."

"Your job is at a bank, Murana." He circled back around in front of her, placing a paw on each of her shoulders. "Not out there hunting down criminals."

"It is what I need to do, AJ." She sifted out his grip and moved to the DJ block, placing a paw on the turntable.

He stepped up behind her, "Then why not come more often? If his talents and skills can help keep you alive out there, why not come visit more than you have? I've not seen you in years."

She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, "Too many memories here, AJ. Too many to come back to."

This time, he placed his paws on her hips and drew close, letting his warmth seep into her back. "Then why don't we make new memories, Murana. Right here and now. Don't you remember all the good times we had here, right in this very spot while everyone else was obliviously high on booze and music?"

She allowed herself to sink into his embrace, enjoying the moment like the long years between were nothing. It would be so easy to just ignore the world and her responsibilities and just let AJ take her away to blissful ignorance. She took a deep breath and returned to reality. Shaking out of her reverie, she stepped away from him and gave a mournful smile, "They were good times, but they can't return, AJ. I'm married now and have a kid, haven't you heard?"

With a goofy look, he leaned on the turntable admiring her body, "So? That just makes you one hot MILF."

Sighing with tolerance, she gave him a look, "You forgot the fact I'm married."

He waved a paw in the air like it was a trivial nuisance, "Ah, details. So," he clapped his paws together, "did you want something to drink before you see Billy?"

She considered it a moment before inclining her head in agreement, "Why not? Lead the way."

"Great!" He whooped, boosting off the DJ block and giving her some finger guns before skipping off to the bar. "I must say, you are smoking in that purple. You've always had good taste, Murana."

"Thanks." She blushed. Even if she had made vows to Anthony, it still felt nice to feel appreciated for the female she was. Despite this, she knew to be careful around AJ. He had a wily way about him that lured many an unsuspecting female to his sheets. She wrapped a leg over a stool and scooted up to the counter before pointing at a bottle, "I'll have a tequila sunrise, please."

"Mhmm! That was always your favorite, babe!" AJ jived, rocking his hips back and forth as he turned the volume up on his headset around his neck. "If you see anything you like, feel free to call it out and I'll get it for you." He hollered back as he was mixing her drink, making extremely sure his gyrating hips were in full view and on display. "Seriously, Murana…anything at all." He chortled, doing some hip thrusts as he set the drink in front of her.

She took a swig before entertaining his mirth, "As world-shattering a time as it would be, I'm loyal to Anthony. I'm not going to leave him."

He leaned over the counter before rolling across it onto his back, looking up at her upside-down, "I know, but it doesn't hurt to try." He pawed at her playfully as she took another sip.

"What are you doing, AJ?" She looked at him bemused.

He pawed some more, "Being cute." He flipped back over right-side up. "Why? Is it working?" He flashed his teeth.

She snorted before downing the rest of the liquor. "Same old AJ. So how's business these days?"

He flopped back onto the bar as he looked bummed, "The usual. Fridays and Sundays seem to be our peak nights. Had a lot of good, new, fresh clientele come through here recently. I feel we might be finally appealing to the prey crowd. Many of the predator customers are going out and spreading the word of how friendly we are to all patrons. Because of this, I think I'll finally be able to pay off the mortgage on this building left to me by the previous owner later this year."

She reached out a paw over his, "That's wonderful, AJ. I'm happy your business is working out for you."

"And I'm glad you found someone that makes you happy." He returned with some regret in his voice.

"Yeah…well…" She began, but dropped the conversation. There was nothing more to say. They regarded each other for a time, enjoying the quiet moment together.

After a period of awkward silence, he pulled his paw away and coughed. "So, guess you need to get going and check in with Billy, right?"

"Right." She confirmed, getting up and walking behind the counter. "It was nice seeing you again, AJ."

He smiled weakly, "Of course." He squatted down and heaved on a metal loop linked to a wooden door hatch, covered surreptitiously by a mat to ease the strain on one's hind paws while standing for long periods of time. "And Murana?" She made a curious noise as she was halfway down the ladder leading below. "The fox will always sniff out the den that gives him the most comfort."

She held his gaze for a long time, "I know…"

Murana sniffed before resuming her descent and vanishing out of sight. He sat there looking down into the dim darkness before leaning up against the counter, reaching into his pocket and bringing out a small, black box he had kept on his person all these years. He couldn't remember later how long he had stared at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually a very fun chapter to write. We get another cameo by Andy Lagopus while I have some more fun with his misery at dealing with Murana as well as set up key macguffin that'll come into play later. The next scene with Ron was a delightful thing to pull off, further playing these two characters off with each other and seeing how their blooming work relationship will grow in the future. An unorthodox partnership to be sure, but definitely a fun one to see and read on page. One of my favorite scenes in the entire Day 2 arc. Definitely wanted to set up a lot of stuff here that would play out in later chapters. Finally, we end with introducing a brand new character, AJ. He was originally going to be nothing but a cameo, but over time, he grew on me and he will have a far bigger role to play later on in IDIH, so best to set him up nice and early here to better acquaint readers with his playful, yet serious nature. Not much action in this chapter, but definitely a lot of fun and character exposition to go around!


	6. Tuesday - A Darker Forecast - The Second Afternoon

_Savannah Central – The Fox Den on Roaring St. – Against the Tundratown Border Wall  
_ _Tuesday – 12:27 PM – Overcast Skies_

Murana continued through the inky blackness, a dull, blue glow at the far end of the tunnel. She remembered the first time she ever went down this pathway after she initially made contact with Billy and he had invited her here to his workshop; at the time, she wasn't sure if she was being led into another trap and being taken as a prisoner, slave or worse. He had since proven his loyalty and trust to her over the past decade, but she still felt that little twinge of trepidation as she padded down the dark cement corridor.

At last, she reached the end and it opened up into an atrium of calcified tunnels carved out by water over the millennia. Undulating refractions danced along the lime blue walls of the cavern as the cement structure ended into more natural formed rock. She walked out onto a wooden deck overlooking a zigzagging staircase leading down to a small pier with a rather large cedar shack perched out over the edge of the underground river.

Softly making her way down the steps, she smiled at the large red houseboat moored to the end of the pier, its bow pointing down the waterway. Emblazoned on its side were the words in white, 'Foxglove III.' She frowned at the massive white patch job marring its pristine surface, a blemish in an otherwise pristine vessel.

Murana flicked her ears in the direction of the faded cedar shack. The sound of some clanking mixed with a few selective curses echoed off the walls. Rapping her knuckles on the door slightly ajar, she peered into the gloom, lit only by several lanterns perched on shelving and the light from the water seeping through the windows. A head of white popped up from behind some boxes piled three deep on an already creaking table that was in serious need of leg repair.

"Well, there's a sight for sore eyes." The silver fox grinned, flashing his row of pearly whites as he went back to what he was working on. "What brings you in here today, Murana? I haven't seen you in nearly two years."

"Oh, you know…the usual. A few more kunai, some more stink bombs, a new suit…" She said nonchalantly, hoping that he wouldn't cue in on the more expensive last option.

He poked his head up again, raising a brow at her, "I've given you two suits already. They're made to be durable. Either you've lost your touch and got them tore up or you've misplaced them, which I highly doubt. So which is it?"

"Let's just go with the former and leave it at that, Billy." She sighed, scraping a wooden chair out and settling in it rather roughly, folding her arms. "I'm in need of a new set. If you are worried about the money, you know I can pay you plenty for any replacements."

He waved off the sentiment before standing up, "You don't have to prove to me your funds. I know where you work. I'm just saying these suits take a lot of time and effort to make and sometimes the materials necessary can be quite tricky to find. Building you any replacements is going to take some time."

"So you don't have any spares on hand?" She asked worriedly.

"I didn't say that." He responded, gruffly padding over to a rack on the wall.

"So what's with the big patch job on your boat? Some bad heist gone wrong?" She snorted. She knew that Billy loved his boat more than anything. It was of sentimental value, considering that it was handed down to him by his late father. The fact that it was damaged at all was a bit shocking if you knew what kind of fox Billy was.

"I never discuss my clients' business with another. Let's leave it at that, Murana." He dismissed her with a paw wave, giving her a pointed look.

She was about to respond when she noticed something. "Ugh, seriously Billy?" Murana raised a paw up, hiding her eyes from the garish, red cargo shorts he was sporting.

Glancing down, he shrugged before continuing over to the pegboard of tools. "I never said I was at the height of fashion, Murana, only at the height of making sure my clients don't get killed."

With a grunt, he flipped up a wooden door panel on the workbench counter revealing a mess of wrenches, bullets and various other metal odds and ends. After some clinking around, he pulled out a small switch and pressed the obvious red button on it. A huge, thunderous roar echoed in the shack as several gears and chains could be heard. Within seconds, the pegboard flipped vertically 180 to reveal a plethora of guns and weapons. She stepped off to the side as a bookcase to her right slide open to reveal a small safe room built of solid steel.

"Really? Doesn't this seem a bit antiquated?" She waved at the entire, revealed operation as she folded her arms.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Billy smirked, striding over to the fortified room. He beckoned her over to join him inside, pulling a blanket off one of the center piece pedestals. On a squat stand, she beheld a very sleek, crimson red suit very similar to the one she had torn. "Thankfully for you, I didn't alter much to it other than a few improvement modifications."

Murana had been admiring a few pieces of tech hanging on the walls, but turned to Billy at his explanation. "Oh? I'm flattered that you've been working on a new suit for me even though I hadn't made any payments recently."

He walked around the podium, grabbing a small attachment before linking it up just under the wrist portion of the suit. "I figured you'd be back sooner or later. After all, what I provided you wouldn't last forever. I know a good, returning customer when I see one." They both shared a smile. "Anyway, I've been noticing you leaving hanging threads all over the city."

"Threads?" She queried, unsure of what he meant.

"Yes, your discarded grappling cables. The old belt design is a bit outdated and could use some refinements. I'm surprised you've made do on the supply of hooks and cable you received last time." He shook his head in admiration. "You really are a creature of frugality. I like that. However, I recognize that it was sloppy design and that something a bit more conservative was needed."

"Well, even if all the hanging cables are so high up that most mammals can't get to them, I can understand the concern for just leaving them there as a trail of breadcrumbs to follow." Murana could agree with his statement. Sure they were small and barely noticeable if one were to look up at the buildings she traversed, but if found, they could definitely be questioned if brought to the proper authorities.

"Exactly. So instead, I molded these two gauntlets for each of your wrists to hang on the underside of your forearm. They're fairly flat and shouldn't pose a big profile while you are out doing your acrobatics." He flipped the arm over to show a small button that traveled up towards the bottom center of where the palm would be. "You just press this button and a spearhead will shoot out from this bottom storage unit and impale itself into almost any surface any building in Zootopia is made out of. It'll shoot out hook blades once embedded and you swing as normal."

"That's a neat trick, but how do you get the cable back or detach it?" She couldn't really fathom how this was all that much better.

Billy raised a finger up, winking at her, "There's the beauty of it. Just press this button again when you are done with it and it'll retract the hook blades and zip back into your storage pouch underneath your forearm. This is why I provided two of these, one for each wrist, so you don't ever have to stop swinging if you don't have to."

Murana low whistled at this, "I do believe you've outdone yourself, Billy. This will most certainly come in handy."

He gave a small bow before slipping the suit off, folding it neatly and handing it over to her. "Made a few other adjustments to it as well, more specifically I increased the layers of filament of the suit making it far easier to ward off knives and claws." He sniffed the air around her a bit, "Something, I feel, would be quite necessary for you."

She lowered her ears, glaring at him, "It was an accident and it won't happen again."

Billy ignored her petulance, "I'm sure. You've been doing a great job for many years now. I have complete faith that what happened truly was an accident."

She unconsciously bared her teeth, not knowing if she should take what he said as flippancy or sincerity. Dropping her anger, she stuffed the suit underneath her arm before following him back out to the shack proper. "So do you have any more musk spray and bombs?" She asked hopefully.

"You mean there isn't enough already on you? I can smell it heavily still, like the lingering scent of rain on warm pavement. You might want to switch shampoo brands. You could try mine since I've been working so much on these things." He chuckled before sitting down on a stool looking back at her with indifference.

A small growl rumbled in Murana's throat, "I'm serious, Billy. I can't go back out there again without something to cover up my scent."

"And how would your musk supplier feel if he knew you were using his scent to mask your own? That he could potentially be tagged as murderer to all these felons and criminals?" He pointed out casually.

She leaned up against the table, thinking on it as if she hadn't considered that before. Granted, she didn't go out as often these days to hunt these vile mammals, but the excuse of some poor sap getting drenched in the same skunk stench being linked to each of the hits could only last so long. They could potentially link the scent back to her son if they got the right person on the case. She did recall that they recently got a new fox on the force, one of Anthony's new buddies. He could be trouble.

"So I take that as a no, then." She set the suit onto the wood before walking around the corner of the table to face Billy directly.

"I didn't say that either. I do have one canister left of spray, but I have no more musk left to work with. If you would just give me more, I wouldn't be left working on nothing but fumes. It's not every day that I can just go up to some random skunk and just ask them for some of their musk. Wouldn't really go over well with the general mustelid populace." He crossed his arms, flopping on his black, bowler cap.

Murana sighed with frustration, "It's not really going to be that easy to get for me anymore. He and I have become rather estranged lately."

"He?" Billy's curiosity was piqued. Up until now, he hadn't even heard what gender her skunk supplier even was. It was that sort of trivial detail that had been killing him for years now. "So had a bit of a falling out, did you? You know, I'm actually quite good at repairing broken negotiations. If you don't mind leaving the middle man out of this, I could talk to him directly and see if I could procure some musk-"

"Absolutely not!" Murana stood up tall, bearing down on the fox. "To respect…his privacy, I'm going to be moving on to find another musk supplier. It might be some time before I can come back and bring you more to work with." She lied, cursing inwardly at her mistake. She trusted Billy to a point, but she was not about to let her own son be exposed to this arms dealer.

He raised his brow at her sudden outburst, clearly he had struck a nerve and this particular skunk of hers meant a good deal more to her than she let on. Feigning ignorance of what was revealed, he shrugged his shoulders again and looked away, "All right then. I was just trying to make things easier for both of us. If you were to just tell me his name, I could contact him and have full crates of stuff ready for you when you got back. It truly is a great scent."

"What?" She said, flabbergasted, she didn't think she heard him right.

"What?" He repeated dully.

After a moment, "I do not discuss my client's business either, to include their personal information." She said with finality.

"Touché." Billy returned. "Well, you can go gather your things here. Just make sure the funds are in my account by close of business or else…"

"Or else what?" Murana scoffed. Granted, she had yet to pay for this latest stash of things he was giving her, but it still seemed odd that he made this threat. She knew it wasn't idle, something must have him spooked that he would need this money soon. Billy wasn't letting it show though, he was savvy like that. Just another reason she liked working with him.

"…Or else I send my bruiser to take care of you." He flashed another tooth filled grin.

She pointed up above them, "You mean AJ? First off, since when did he become your bruiser? And second, he wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone me." She laughed it off.

"Maybe before, but now things have changed. Any protection from him you might have had is gone." He let that stew for a moment before proceeding, "I never could figure out why you two separated."

So that's how it was, she confirmed. "Is that what this is all about? This hostile bluff? Did AJ put you up to this? Did he ask you about me?" She couldn't believe the gall of that music-loving fox upstairs, using her own business partner to weed out information about her feelings.

Billy stared back at her unfazed, "I don't discuss my client's…"

"…business. I know." She finished for him. "Whatever Billy, keep your secrets. I have mine. The funds will be in your account before the day is done."

"Much obliged, Ma'am." He bent the tip of his hat down in salute. He watched her a few minutes more, turning back to his original project he had started before she arrived.

"Billy?" She called out at the doorway, her gear and weapons stuffed in a brown paper handle bag, dangling in one paw. "Thanks."

"Just doing my job, Murana." He replied without turning to look at her.

"Not just for that, but for helping me at all." She stared wistfully at the ship moored on the water, remembering an earlier model of it carrying her bruised and battered body to safety many years ago. "For believing in what I do."

At this, he stopped and swiveled his head at her. "I may not agree how you do it, Murana, but I believe in getting these vile people off the streets. Your interests coincide with mine. Nothing more."

"One of these days, I'm going to catch you caring a lot more than you show, Billy." She smiled, giving him a wink.

"Maybe so, but today is not that day." He riposted dryly. With another nod, he went back to his business as he heard her footpaws getting fainter. A glimmer of a smile passed over his muzzle.

* * *

 

_Downtown – Mercy Hospital – Southern Savannah off Oasis Plaza  
_ _Tuesday – 2:02 PM – Dark Overcast Skies_

Murana moved with purpose. She had a flowing coat of white trailing behind her as she swiftly navigated through the sterile halls. It hadn't been hard to secure for herself a doctor's coat, clipboard, pen and a pair of glasses. She entered the hospital like any other patient visitor, looking lost and worried. She obediently waited in the sitting area as she was told until she spied what she had been looking for.

A female kudu caught her eye. Covering her striking, tawny pelt with a gleaming white coat, Murana assumed correctly that the doctor was coming on shift. She swiftly stood up and slipped in silently through the closing door as the kudu badged in. She tailed her for several minutes, acting like she belonged. Not a single soul questioned her presence in the halls.

The moment the doctor stepped into a small side office to set down her things, Murana immediately wrapped an arm around the kudu's neck, slapping a paw over her snout to keep her from crying out. The prey's legs kicked out viciously at first, her entire body screaming in panic and fear at this unknown assailant. Her jerks and kicks began to grow faint as the lack of oxygen to her brain ceased. Soon, she lay still in the wolf's arms.

Releasing her and settling her down into the chair, Murana check the doctor's nostrils, ensuring that her breathing had resumed. Nodding to herself that the kudu was safely passed out, she stripped her of her coat and swiped the glasses off her face. She grimaced at the tight fit of them on her broad skull, but she finally made them rest semi-comfortably across her snout. Picking up a pen and notepad off her cubicle desk, she swept out into the hallway to find her stationary quarry.

She passed by several nurses, each one glancing at her oddly. They didn't recall a wolf being a doctor at Mercy, but in the end they shrugged and carried about their business. Perhaps she was a new transfer from another district? She sidestepped into a medicine cabinet, sifting quickly through various vials until she found exactly what she was looking for: painkillers. Taking a few and stuffing them into her coat pocket, she left the room in search of information.

Bowing her head in greeting at her 'fellow' colleagues, she sat down at the nearest available computer and was relieved to see that it was already logged in. That was good, she didn't have to hack the thing in public. She located the patient listing and quickly scanned for her target of interest, finding both the floor and room he was in.

"There you are." She whispered to herself, a smile spreading across her lips.

"Ma'am?" Murana looked up to see a rather large caribou regarding her warily. "Are you new here? I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting."

Murana's mouth widened more. Might as well go with what the caribou assumed rather than make up something far more bogus. "Yeah," She giggled, "What gave it away?"

"Well, you're not wearing your badge for starters. That and I haven't seen any preda-I mean, any wolf doctors here." The female corrected herself, seemingly to admonish herself for her prejudice.

Murana let her smile lessen, covering up some of her teeth so as to not be as intimidating. "Oh my, you're right! I completely forgot it at my desk! Sorry about that. Just got transferred here just last night from over in Tundratown. I'm still learning my way around here."

The caribou leaned over the counter, crossing her hooves genially, looking a bit more relieved. "That's quite all right, hun. Mercy Hospital can be quite the big place. You from Kravenhall down by the docks?"

Murana wasn't fully aware of the place, but she did know that hospital was over in Rainforest District at least. She clicked her tongue in response, "That's the one. Now if you'll excuse me, got a patient to get to and also make a quick stop and pick up my badge!"

"Of course. Welcome again to Mercy….er…what was your name?" She felt rather ashamed to not having asked already.

"Illyana." She shook the caribou's hoof.

"Grisele." The caribou replied happily.

With a wink, Murana got up from the chair, closed out her search and waved at her new 'friend' before heading down the corridor to the elevators. She stood in silence, her mind already on the immediate future as the numbers in the elevator slowly rose. She calmly stepped out on the 14th floor of the building, filtering through several nurses and a janitor as they got on the elevator to head down.

It was unusually quiet on this floor. She would have preferred a bit more din to mask any potential noise that could occur. She stopped at his room, glancing down the hallway to ensure she had no witnesses before entering. She found the ocelot wrapped in a full body cast of gauze, leaving only his eyes and nose open to the elements. He appeared to be sleeping, but still very much alive.

She sidled up next to his bedside, taking extra care to shut the door behind her and locking it. She spoke in soothing tones as she gently caressed his arm, hanging awkwardly over the bed railing. "Javier…oh, Javier. It's time to wake up now."

The cat's eyes fluttered open slowly, as if awakening from a deep, medicated slumber. It took a few moments of adjustment as his eyes focused on her. His eyes bulged at the sight of her. He began making a low moan, too weak to really travel far, but horribly awful like a hairball stuck in his throat. He made efforts to move away from her on the bed, each motion feeling like daggers being driven into his burned skin, causing him to wail.

"Shhh, it's okay, Javier. I'm not going to burn you this time around. That'd be a bit too obvious, wouldn't it?" She gave him a leering grin all the while petting his arm, the effect chilling him to the bone.

"Yes, it would be a bit obvious, not to mention sloppy." A calm voice resounded in the quiet room.

Kunai immediately leapt into her paws as she faced the voice directly across from her on the other side of the bed. The wraparound curtain had been blocking the chair by the window. A small paw shifted it aside as she looked upon the face of a bunny she had almost long since forgotten. His cunning smile matched his outfit that strangely resembled a tuxedo, complete with bowtie. His grey fur ended at the tops of his ears with black stripes at the tips and coming across his cheeks from the back of his head.

"Jack Savage." She breathed, quite startled to see him again.

"Indeed, Murana. Long time, no see." He smiled cordially, brushed off a fleck of lint on his leg as he crossed it over the other.

"What are you doing here?" She didn't move a muscle, still tense and taut in her pose, ready to leap upon the rabbit at a moment's notice.

"Isn't it obvious?" He leaned back further into the chair, resting his paws in his lap. "After witnessing and hearing about some poor kitty being burned alive last night, yet somehow surviving due to the efforts of some courageous fox cop, it was quite easy to deduce that you would show up here today and finish the job."

"Witness…?" She asked, her grip flexing on the cool metal within them. Her mind raced back over the events of the previous night, locking on to a singular moment as she was awaiting her mark to appear. "You were in the window, in the building across the street. Watching me."

"Very good, Murana." He clucked his tongue as he winked at her. "Good to see that your senses have not dulled over time."

She narrowed her eyes, "What is it you want? You going to try and stop me from killing this cat?" She inclined her head subtly towards Javier, whose pupils were shifting frantically back and forth between the two of them.

"Heavens no!" He chortled, waving a paw at her as he suppressed the remainder of his mirth. "Far be it from me to interrupt a mark. That would be rude. By all means, kill away."

"Then why are you here?" She growled, pressing the question.

"I'm here to repay a favor and do you a service." He rejoined promptly, not changing his expression.

"Jack…you and I both know where we come from. There are no favors and there are no services, not without money." She spat at him, her temper rising with each passing moment with him.

"Come now, Murana. No need to shout. I'm here to honor our friendship that we cultivated over the many years we were in service together as partners." Jack looked sincere. If it was one thing she could be sure of, Jack wasn't a liar.

"So out with it then. I don't have all day." She said with acrimony.

He straightened his suit before standing up and stepping towards her, looking up over the bed at the wolf. "I'm here, as you know, on the orders of our boss…oh right, my boss." He ruminated on that line of thought with a grin before clearing his throat. "Rosco has put out a hit on you and he has tasked me to carry it out."

"How gracious of you to come tell me that you're going to kill me, Jack. Such a great way of honoring our friendship." She snarked.

He looked away with weariness, "Murana, I could have just killed you out there on the rooftop. You know I had the shot and opportunity. You were a sitting cub out there waiting for Javier here. Could have easily popped one in your skull, but I am doing the honorable thing and upholding our previous partnership by giving you fair warning of my intentions…even if Rosco does not want me to."

"So is this it then? Now that I know, are you going to try and kill me here?" She took a step back, awaiting a negative response.

Jack merely shook his head. "It wouldn't be sporting, Murana. Come on, you know how I operate. When I nail you, you'll never see me coming, just like how we were trained. However, I see that you've lost some of your touch. This is twice now that you failed to recognize that I was nearby, twice that you could have died at my paws. These years of being on your own, not training daily like we used to has clearly taken its toll on your skills."

"You going to leave, let me contemplate my future demise and kill Javier now, or are you going to just talk me to death?" She countered with venom. She considered trying to take the bunny down, but knew that he was packing heat somewhere on that small frame of his. Remembering how well he held himself with a gun, she wasn't going to chance a scene here.

"I feel my purpose here is finished." Jack sniffed, looking around the nondescript hospital room. He straightened his tie before walking around the foot of the bed, completely aware of Murana turning to face his every movement. "I would advise you to unplug his life support rather than inject painkiller into his IV."

"Why is that?" She questioned, a bit uncertain now.

Seeing Jack here, of all places, had completely set her off balance and her nerves were shot as a result. Murana had been an assassin over a decade ago under the employ of a ruthless gang leader, Rosco, whose operations originated from the Nocturnal District beneath the streets of Zootopia. She earned a lot of her skills during her extensive time carrying out marks for that brutal crime lord, many times working alongside Jack Savage since it was common practice back then to put out two assassins for one mark. For if one should fail, the other would succeed. Leaving Rosco unexpectedly did not endear herself to him and he never forgot slights like that.

"Well, if you bothered to take the time to read his chart," He picked it up out of the plastic holder on the side of the railing before handing it to her. "You'll have read that you did quite a number on Javier last night to include crushing his ribs to the point that he has collapsed lungs. These machines," he indicated the rather large breathing apparatus set up alongside the ocelot with tubes going up through his nose. "are all that are keeping him alive since he can't seem to draw in breath on his own."

"He's also due for surgery later this evening." She noted as she scanned through his file.

"Exactly. And since you now have your paw prints all over those vials of pain killer I know you have in your pocket, it would be an easy matter of printing it and tracing it back to you once they discover that was the method of his death." He shook his head. "Honestly Murana, I expected better out of you. I had almost hoped you would provide me a challenge, but it seems all I'm going to be up against is a has-been."

"Why do you have to be so cruel?" She snarled, ears flattened back.

"It's in the name, darling." He unlocked and opened the door, he tilted his head back to look at her. "Better hurry up though, something tells me not a lot of predators work at Mercy and word has gotten around that there is a wolf prowling these halls. I'll see you soon, Murana." He shook his bunny tail before walking out and shutting it gently behind him.

"Arrogant little shit." She exhaled, putting down the knives and stowing them away into slit pockets in her clothes. Shaking her head from that surreal experience, she considered Javier again. "Well, thanks to our little friend there, it seems you won't have the peaceful death that I had promised you earlier. Things would have been so much simpler had you just burned to death."

The ocelot's mews began to come back with more fervor, his entire body wracked with pain now as she bent low to navigate the maze of cords until she found the one that led to his breathing machine. With a small grunt, she unplugged it from the wall and left it hanging just slightly in the wall, as if it had been kicked loose accidently. Rising up to look down on the small form of Javier, she gave him a self-satisfied grin.

"Now the souls of Fresia Lorian and Tyler Mason will finally be at peace. May you feel the punishment of your crimes, Javier Sanchez. Goodbye." She closed her eyes as she heard his gasping cries, knowing that he was slowly suffocating at having to manually try to breathe in the air he so desperately needed.

"It is done." She let out her exhaustion, opening her eyes to look upon the dead form of Javier, his last throes of twitching subsiding. It was most likely a painful death, no less than he deserved. She wasn't sure which was worse, burning alive or suffocating. Either way, justice was done. She was confident that he would not be coming back a second time.

Content that her job was finished, she pivoted on her hind paw and left the way she came in. She took care, per Jack's warning, to dump the vials of painkillers back into the medicine closet where she found them. Nobody would be the wiser that she had touched them if they were all where they should be to begin with. She waved bye to Grisele on the way out, telling her to have a good rest of her shift.

She moved ahead without thinking anymore of Javier. That was done and passed. She had something else to attend to that demanded her attention now. She set her sights back over to the boundary wall, the frosty air rising in the afternoon sky.

* * *

 

_Downtown – Tail Hollow Orphanage – Happytown District – Corner of Deluge Ave and 34th St.  
_ _Tuesday – 4:32 PM – Dark Overcast Skies / Drizzling Rain_

Murana furrowed her brow, lost in thought. She was working her way back through Savannah from Tundratown, smelling the noxious fumes of Happytown. She kicked off the lingering grab of a slum dweller begging for scraps as she marched down the sidewalk towards Max's orphanage. She knew better than to take side streets in this part of town. Heading off the main roads meant trouble in this district.

Her visit to the Pale Moon Orphanage was disconcerting, bringing up memories of something long past. Memories she'd rather forget. The situation there was awful. It was as if the entire roof of the building was completely blown away by some explosive incident. Debris and rubble were everywhere. All the older cubs were missing, every single one of them kidnapped. The younger ones were strangely spared. That was not the worst thing she discovered.

The matron there was absolutely terrified and couldn't really be conversed with reliably. She kept babbling on about cruel mammals with swords and cutlasses, some carrying old time muskets and other instruments of death. What alarmed her most was the description of their leader, riding down like a demon from an iron beast of burden that seemingly suspended itself in the air as if by magic. She raved that they spared no quarter and killed anyone who got in their way of stealing all the children.

What Murana found interesting was that the attack on Pale Moon coincided with the very electrical storm that was hovering over it during her hit on Javier the previous night. She mused that perhaps these storms weren't as random or atmospheric in nature after all, but something manufactured and deliberate. She had nothing to go off of on this crazy theory, but that detail couldn't be ignored.

She was jolted to her senses when she heard the female panther's voice emerging from the open doorway before her. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she wasn't aware of where she was, her hinds paws on autopilot through the city, almost forgetting why she had come to Tail Hollow to begin with.

"Murana? You here to see Max again? Have you reconsidered adoption?" The Matron inquired hopefully.

"I'm…not sure yet." Murana admitted, feeling great shame in doing so.

The panther groaned at the news, placing a paw over her breast. "Oh dear, that's not good at all. I don't know what you said to that boy. He seems completely unwilling to do much of anything. We tried to get him to eat something today, but he wasn't having any of it. Just wants to spend his hours up in his room being by himself." She glanced up the rickety stairs towards the boys rooms. "Maybe it isn't such a good idea that you see him today."

Murana placed a paw on the Matron's shoulder. "I'll be making my decision tomorrow, Matron. I just want to talk to him one more time to be sure of something. May I?" She beamed at the panther, trying to settle her rattled calm.

With a weak nod, she stepped back to allow Murana entrance. "Just…don't break his heart again, Murana. I don't think he could take another visit like that again."

Murana confirmed her acknowledgment of the Matron's words. It was more like she couldn't take another visit like that again. Murana didn't say anything to her, especially considering she ran the entire orphanage, but she knew Max had given her a fair bit of trouble since being inducted here. Him lashing out or being difficult to manage after her visits probably wasn't helping matters. She felt it was selfish of the Matron to feel that way, but she couldn't blame her with having to handle all these charges and expect a tidy ship.

She padded up the steps carefully, cognizant of their weakening state. Even with her yearly salary as bank CEO, it wouldn't be enough to renovate this building. It would actually be best to demolish it completely and rebuild it anew. She sighed inwardly as she reached the top of the stairs, spotting a raggedy doll, colors faded from either extreme use or mistreatment. Even the toys here were hand-me-downs that she couldn't fathom how many kids' paws had been on them.

Walking across the landing, she entered the boys' hall and stopped just outside the door to Max's room. It was slightly ajar, indicating that he was still inside. She quietly opened it and peered into the gloom. He had the shades drawn over the window, slivers of light illuminating the darkness from the sides. It seemed the room was even more disheveled than when she had last left it. On his bed, facing away from her, was the form of Max. She was unsure if he was asleep or not.

"So did you figure it out?" His voice droned into the inky blackness.

She winced at his lifeless voice. It seemed like he had already given up hope in her before she had even started. Worse still, she feared he might be right. "Figure what out?" She spoke hesitantly.

His striped tail swished irritatedly across the bed covers. "Your life. Did you uncomplicate it? Or did you come here to tell me you can't adopt me?"

Murana dragged out the wooden chair from beside his nightstand before flipping it around and sitting in it backside front. "Not exactly that. No. Things have gotten a bit more difficult of late. I actually came here to tell you that I've made a decision that I do plan on taking you home with me."

"Just not today." He stated flatly, not bothering to flip over to face her. "Or this week, or this month."

She dropped her head onto her arms, wanting to cover her face with them. "Yeah, I guess you are right, Max. I would be a terrible mother. What was I thinking that I could be good enough for another cub when I did such a fantastic job of alienating my first?"

This comment did prompt Max to turn over and regard her hind paws. "You have another cub?" He wasn't aware that Murana already had another child.

Wiping a small tear from her eye, she smiled in remembrance of Steven. "Yeah, he's been with me for many years. Found him as a young kit and he's clung to me ever since."

"He's not your own?" Max thought on this for a moment. He had originally thought that it would be of her flesh and blood.

She laughed softly, "No, he's not. I never thought myself the motherly type, but he just seemed to grow on me. I wouldn't change my time with him for the world, though." She looked off in a daze, recalling the times she had spent with Steven, saddened that it had come to how it was now. "He has since left my den."

"So I'm a replacement." His eyes flitted over her face briefly before latching onto her ear.

Her gaze snapped back to him. "No! That's not it at all, Max. I just feel a certain type of connection to you. Don't you feel it too? All the times we would hang out and visit the library or the park?"

Max sat up and leaned against the wall, wrapping his tail around him. "Things we don't do anymore." He fired with impunity, uncertain if he fully knew the effect it had on Murana.

Taken aback, she grew frustrated. She could stand her ground against criminals and lethal assassins from the dark depths of Zootopia, but she couldn't lift a finger to defend herself against a small child. "I know it seems I've lost interest in you or that I don't care, but that is not true. I wish I could explain all the issues I'm dealing with in my life that makes all this so very hard for me."

"I guess it is hard to love trash like me." He pulled his knees up to his chin before enfolding his arms around them, closing himself off from her, almost like a physical wall.

"Max Thrash." She said firmly. "What did I say about talking down about yourself? You are not trash!"

"You can't tell me what to do or think. You aren't my mom. You refuse to be!" He shot back. This time making firm eye contact with her. He only held it for the briefest moment, but it was like a shotgun blast to the heart. "Stop coming here and promising me your love when you don't mean it!"

Murana choked back the tears that were threatening her. She looked away to see the lone item in his small, mesh trash can. The library card she had given him lay discarded and unused at the bottom, thrown away because the gesture was meaningless to Max, regardless of her feelings in giving it to him.

After a lengthy silence, Max added quietly, "They're going to move me, you know."

"What was that, Max?" She sniffled, searching his face.

"Matron can't afford to keep me here anymore. She says I would have better chances somewhere else." The first trace of emotion creeped into his voice, recognizing the hopelessness of his own situation.

"Did she say where?" Murana swallowed back the knot in her throat. Max merely shook his head, looking down at his tail. "Did she say when?"

"I heard them say tomorrow." He answered.

She tapped the side of the chair a few times, thinking on the timelines. Things were looking quite dire for Max. It was no secret that Matron preferred easier orphans to take care of, and Max's inability to mesh well with the rest of the kids here did him no favors. She was also in no position to take him right away.

Troubles with Anthony and Steven, alongside issues she was still resolving at her job, with the threat of death looming over her head from Jack made the entire situation of adopting a new family member highly unattractive right now. Yet she only had one day, if that, to claim Max or he might be moved to a place she may not be able to find or track given the new legal privacy laws.

Murana let out a low moan, covering her face with a paw. "That's simply not enough time. Even if I manage to get the paperwork completed, I don't even have my place prepared for you."

Sensing some hope in her consideration, Max's ears came up. "I don't mind sleeping on the floor or in a chair. I can be comfortable just about anywhere."

"No…it's not just that." She sighed, looking back at him with regret. "My husband, Anthony, he isn't exactly doting on young ones that aren't wolf cubs. He would not take kindly to you coming home with me tonight. Not after the fight we had this morning."

"Oh…" His ears drooped again, his eyes trailing down her snout. "So why don't you just have cubs with him then? Why bother coming here at all? Why bother with me?"

Her eyes drooped at his feelings of self-deprecation. "Max, I can't. There is something wrong with me. I cannot have cubs, even if I tried. I came here because you were special to me, Max. Out of all the other orphans here, you were the one that stole my heart."

"Yet your heart prefers to keep Anthony happy rather than yourself." He stated; a truth that seemed evident.

"It's not that simple. Yes, I want to salvage my rocky marriage, but I also want to feel needed." Murana rested her chin back on her arms, looking wistfully at Max, "I've since missed feeling wanted when Steven was around, hugging my legs and wanting me to take care of him daily. Anthony is self-sufficient with his job and rarely needs anything from me. So I'm just there, to warm his bed and be there to support him, but the spark of fire that drew us together isn't exactly burning bright at the moment."

"I understand." Max slumped back against the wall, defeated. "You want to, but you can't. It just isn't our time."

"Max?" She tilted her head, wondering what was going on in his head.

"Goodbye Murana. I really did enjoy our time together." He began, a few tears beginning to form at the edges of his eyes.

"Max, don't say that. Don't say no…" Her breath held in her throat.

"I'm saying no to help you, Murana." This time he fought to keep eye contact with her. "I am getting rid of one more thing that is stressing you out." He paused before continuing, studying the array of emotions flickering across her face. "It would be nice…if sometime in the future we could meet again. Until then, let's leave it at this."

The tears coming freely now, Murana let out a sob. He wasn't even hers yet and somehow she felt like she just lost something infinitely precious. Why did she feel this strongly about wanting someone to love and care for? Max filled a hole that was missing since Steven moved out and now that yawning abyss was opening up again and there was no way to patch it up this time.

"You are stronger than I, Max." She cried, wiping away a tear with a paw. She nodded finally, "Alright, I will honor your wish, but you bet on your striped tail that I will come find you when I'm ready. Even if you are already adopted by someone else, I will come visit you. You hear me?" She waggled a finger at him.

He chuckled a bit at this, finding the humor in the situation despite his own tears threatening his calm. No one else had gotten him to react like this. He was surprised himself at the tears he was crying. "Yeah. Thanks Murana."

"Mura will do, Max." She smiled. Standing up, trying her best to keep it under control, she pushed the chair back to its original position before walking up and ruffling the fur on Max's head. "Keep thrashing, little guy."

Max reached up a paw to hold onto her wrist before letting it fall as she pulled away. "I will, Mura."

They stared at each other a few moments longer, then she turned around and walked out. There was nothing more to be said. An opportunity for both of them had passed. Trying to fight against the inevitable tide was drawing out the pain longer and Max was smart enough to see it first. As much as she was happy that he ended it when he did, her heart broke that it had to end up this way. In the end, she could blame no one but herself for how it shook out. Just like everything else in her life, she was always failing. Why was she just no good for anyone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first scene of this chapter was actually originally introduced in the previous one, and the first scene of that chapter was originally in the first part of Day 2. After trying to split this day up into four different parts, I realized it made this section altogether short. So I moved the final scene of part 1 to the first of part 2 and split this scene into two pieces. It felt more of a better sense of chapter closure with leaving AJ alone like that for part 2 than flowing right into this part with Billy Silva. For Billy, he was a very difficult character to write for since I didn't have a clear handle on him. I had to get with his owner/creator many times to make sure I got his personality and what he does just right. In the end, it turned out to be more of an expositional piece than anything profound, but it set the stage for future events. The middle scene with Jack Savage was one of the best scenes and the one I had the most fun writing. Introducing him in a completely different light than how I did in Death Becomes You was a treat. This is an earlier, more heartless Jack than we know from the other story. Maybe it'll be this story that changes him to be the way he is in DBY? Finally, the final scene with Max was a continuation from the one in Day 1. We needed to finalize the the relationship and ultimate decision between these two before future events shake things up, which will happen sooner than you think.


	7. Tuesday - A Darker Forecast - The Second Evening

_Savannah Central - The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A  
_ _Tuesday – 7:57 PM – Dark Overcast Skies / Pouring Rain_

Murana had just finished a bowl of noodles from the local Red Panda Noodle Express. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it filled the belly and that was what mattered right now to her. She didn't feel altogether willing to come home and face Anthony tonight. She knew he'd already be at home chugging away a cold one, most likely watching some sports. She highly doubted Zoey would be around given their altercation earlier, but it was hard to tell with their neighbor.

The sky had opened up and the downpour was commencing in earnest. She cursed inwardly, berating herself for not stopping by her bank to pick up a trench coat to at least cover her suit. It was getting soaked through and her belly cuts weren't being helped by the damp wetness. The electrical thunderstorms were starting to brew again over Zootopia. This time they seemed a bit closer than they were the previous night, almost hovering right overhead in Savannah Central.

A buzz in her pocket caused her to shuffle to the side under a storefront awning to prevent her cell from getting wet from the rain. She tapped it on and saw who it was. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she brought it to her ear and answered it, "Yes, Ron?"

"Boss!" His voice boomed through the speaker, making her cringe at the volume of it. "Where were you this afternoon? We had a ton of new accounts and filing that were quite unexpected! I had to figure out half of it all by myself without you around. I thought you said you were coming back here today."

"Here?" She said incredulously. "You're still at the bank?"

"Yes, Boss." He affirmed matter-of-factly.

"Ron, we close at six. What are you still doing there?" She barked. "I'm not paying for overtime if that is what you're going after!"

"No, no, Boss! I was just…well, you didn't really specify my work hours and being the boss and all, I figured you usually work odd hours to begin with: coming early and leaving late sort of thing. So I was just staying behind in anticipation that you'd return before we closed." He explained succinctly, almost rehearsed in the ease of his reasoning.

"Be that as it may, I am on salary and you are hourly. You are to work from eight to six every day." She commanded, somewhat upset to be having to clarify this for her secretary. "Things came up today that I couldn't get out of and didn't I say earlier that I probably wasn't going to come back in?"

"Oh right, of course…but I was hoping you'd at least pop back in since I had a few questions here about certain aspects of our accounting methods with regards to the offshore accounts." Ron began, the tone in his voice indicating he was getting ready to unleash a lot more.

"Ignore them for now." She said quickly to cut him off. "I appreciate what you did with them yesterday, but for now they are not your concern anymore. Is there anything else you wish to ask, Ron? It is getting late, you should be going home and I need to rest for tomorrow."

"All right, Boss." She could just sense his whole body sag on the other end of the phone. "See you tomorrow then." He clicked off.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she plopped the phone back into her pocket and took stock of herself before stepping back out into the pouring rain. Flattening her ears back, she stuffed her hands into her pockets as she strode across the sidewalks, sidestepping multiple mammals huddled underneath their flimsy umbrellas. She stepped into the foyer of her apartment complex sopping wet, shaking off the droplets in the designated area meant for such a purpose. Satisfied she had removed most of the offending liquid, she headed up the elevator to her penthouse floor.

She gave her keys a jangle, turning them in the lock as she opened the door. Walking in, she spied a rather solemn Anthony on the couch doing exactly what she had expected him to be doing. His eyes drifted over to her, a small frown etched onto his muzzle, before they wandered back to the screen. It was clear he had probably plowed through an entire six-pack before she arrived and was already on his second helping. This was not going to end well.

"And my better half returns home." He said under his breath, loud enough for her to hear, before taking another swig.

"Good to see you too, Anthony." She replied icily, dropping any pet names she would have used in any other situation for him.

"Late night at work, I take it?" He asked, his eyes still glued to the screen.

She shrugged. "It's to be expected by someone in my position."

"Right." He said dryly. "Because people like me can't attain such positions and aren't required to stay behind for that sweet salary."

She dropped the keys unceremoniously into the plate on the counter, delivering a rather loud racket that caused Anthony to tighten back his ears and bare a few teeth. "Is that what you think about how I regard you? Like you're beneath me?"

Taking another sip, "Well, why not? You didn't really need me for my money, that's for sure. Just some warm body to hold onto your arm and make you look respectable as a lady of influence in Zootopia. What could a bigwig CEO want with a lowly cop, huh?"

Murana folded her arms tightly, staring at him. "What I needed was not your money, but your love. You had something that I couldn't quite place at the time and I fell for it. I fell for you. Had nothing to do with your standing or mine; your 'position' or mine. I don't stay because I need to look respectable. I stay because I believe in the commitment and vows I made to you."

"Oh yeah? The vows?" He scoffed, his thoughts clearly not on the present.

"Yeah. In fact, today I could have easily taken another mammal to bed if I so chose, but I chose to keep true to you and I rebuffed his advances." She blurted, feeling rather hurt at his callous attitude.

"You were looking for tail then today, huh?" He set his beer down and faced her a bit more directly. "Is that why you are home late?"

"What? No!" She flustered. "I'm just saying…"

"Sounds to me you went out purposefully looking." He reasserted a bit more forcefully.

"Ugh, you are drunk, Anthony. I am not having this ridiculous discussion right now. If you really don't want this marriage to work, just say so. Grow a pair, be a male and just tell me straight up if this relationship isn't working out for you." She glared back at him defiantly.

She had reached the end of her rope with this inane attitude of his. She had no idea what had gotten into Anthony today, but it was clear something was bothering him very much and he was unjustly taking it out on her. She understood that his job had been a bit more stressful of late, but he always seemed to keep his chipper demeanor at home whenever he doffed his uniform and slapped on a pair of sweatpants and tank-top. He never really let anything get to him, until today.

Taking the bait, he stood up suddenly, rattling the coffee table and nearly tipping the bottle perched on it. Ignoring the brief commotion he had caused, he marched up to her and looked down upon her. He was over a foot taller, but it did little to intimidate Murana. She didn't back down from his menace. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of booze on his breath, but she did not let that distract her from returning his ire.

"I don't feel respected for what I do in this marriage. For all the times I have covered for you with dinner, whenever you came home late with no time to cook. For all the times when I had to pick you up and take you to appointments because you refuse to get yourself a car and I have to pick you up in the squad car. Which, mind you, is against regulations, but I do it for you anyway." He rattled off, with clear intent for more.

"And I appreciate all that." She tapped a foot. "And I do respect you, Anthony. I appreciate all that you do for me."

"Then how do you show it?" He spread his arms wide, claws out in frustration. She looked at him in silence, unsure of how to answer. "You're very hard to live with, Murana. You are stubborn, unrelenting and can sometimes be a bit unsympathetic. I don't know all that happened to you when you were younger, because you never want to talk about it. It's like you don't even trust me enough to let me know what causes you nightmares during the night."

"That's a bit personal." She retorted.

He huffed, "Of course it is! Everything is too personal for you! Ever since we got married, I have revealed just about everything about me, but I barely know anything about you." He jabbed a finger at her. "I figured maybe you were just shy and that in time, you'd open up and I'd fall in love with you all over again. Now I know that you aren't shy, you just don't care about this marriage enough to bother telling me anything about yourself. Why you didn't even tell me you couldn't have kids until today and just let me think you wanted nothing more than scruffy adopts as cubs."

"You were going pretty good there, but now you're losing the high ground here, Mister." She warned. "I suggest you back down now. You have no idea what you're stepping into with me."

"No, you listen." He growled, causing her to stop short. "Just for once, I'd like to feel like the head of this family. I've always felt inferior compared to you, like how I am not the sole breadwinner here. You tend to make all the decisions for this family. I had to sell my small apartment and drop everything to come live here with you after marriage and I didn't complain once. Even if it is for only a few moments here and there, I'd like to feel like I can provide for you. To provide and help usher in a new cub into our family, but now I find out that I'll never be able to do even that with you!"

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It is a very sensitive subject with me." Murana finally broke eye contact, looking away at the screen. "I'm just not ready to talk about it with anyone."

"Well, I'm not just anyone. I am your husband!" He rapped a fist on his chest. "Is your 'past' part of the reason why you keep that picture of yourself on your bed stand? Honey, if you can't put your faith in me, then who can you place your faith in?"

"I'm just not ready, Anthony." She turned her eyes back to him, trying to re-steel her resolve. "Please don't push this onto me right now. It's not a good time."

He snarled, his anger coming back. "Then when is it a good time? Next week? Month? Year? What this marriage needs is a little trust!"

"No, what this marriage needs is a bit more understanding!" She shot back, getting up on her tiptoes to get level with him.

"No, Murana!" He roared, spittle flying. "What this marriage needs…is one less husband. It's feeling a bit crowded right now!"

That stalled her rebuttal cold. She blinked at him as he swept past her, not even bothering to grab the keys to let himself back into the apartment. The walls shook at the slamming of the door, no doubt alarming some of the neighbors in the floors and rooms around her. She knew she would be receiving a call from her landlord the next morning over this fight.

Glancing over into the dining area, she spotted two plates arranged across from each other. One was already empty with nothing but crumbs. He had stayed up waiting for her to return earlier. She never showed. Who knew what was going on in his head while he was eating alone, expecting her to show up at any moment and appreciate the gesture of sincerity in his efforts of making up for earlier.

A movement out of the corner of her eye directed her attention to the glass panel door leading into the small suite that her friend Zoey occupied. She was sitting there, regarding her with an odd look. No telling how long she had been there listening to them argue. She held the gaze a moment longer before scampering off on all fours deeper into the wall and out of sight.

Murana collapsed onto the couch, the tears that were threatening her all afternoon finally overtook her. She wept bitterly over all she had lost today. She lost the support of her son, Steven. She lost the trust of her neighbor, Zoey. She lost the chance of loving a new kit, Max. She most likely lost the love of her husband, Anthony. She couldn't imagine this week getting any worse and it barely even started. She broke down completely and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

_Zootopia – Central Districts – Tundra Town to Happy Town  
_ _Tuesday – 10:48 PM – Overcast with Frequent Electrical Currents / Light Rain_

She snorted, jolting herself awake as the buzzing in her suit pocket woke her up. She swore as she flipped over onto her side on the couch, her paw digging deep and grappling the phone out, swiping the screen to see who was calling her at this ungodly hour. She narrowed her eyes as she saw a familiar number, a smug, grinning face staring back at her with green irises. Not exactly the person she wanted to be talking to this late at night. She tapped the answer button and placed it to her ear.

"Mrs. Wolford? Is everything all right?" A surprisingly concerned voice reverberated through the speaker.

"Yes, Officer Wilde. Everything is fine." She responded flatly, wanting nothing more than to get back to sleep.

"Nick will do, ma'am." He reminded her. "Look, I'm all for buddies coming over unannounced for a good time watching the game or playing videos, but when they are passed out stone cold drunk on my bed, I kinda have a problem with that."

"What? Did you call so I could pick him up?" This was the last thing she needed right now.

There was a slight pause on the phone. Sensing the tone in her voice, he changed tack, "No, that won't be necessary. I'm just concerned for you. He was raving something fierce when he stumbled through my doorway. A lot of it…concerning you."

"Yeah, we got in a fight. Happens all the time in marriage." She rejoined swiftly.

"That's not the type of fight this sounded like." Nick began.

"I do not believe this is any of your business, Wilde. My family's affairs are our own." She cut him off sharply.

His voice changed, a bit of an undercurrent of indignation slithering through his words. "Mrs. Wolford, your husband is my friend and one of my partners on the force. What affects him, affects me. When we have difficulties in life, we have to learn to rely on our friends to help support us through the tough times. Officer Hopps taught me that. Anthony chose my doorstep to come to and I'll do everything I can to help him through this. Who do you have to rely on, Mrs. Wolford? None of us can do this life alone. Who do you have to open up to about this?"

The question hung there like an indictment. Without answering, Murana turned the phone off and let it sit there on the coffee table. She stared at it for a long time before getting up, leaving it there and padding over to her bedroom to get dressed for the evening. She had just slipped off her suit blouse when a small, crumpled piece of paper fell to the floor. She unfurled it, having completely forgotten she had stuffed it into her new suit back at the office during her impromptu wardrobe change.

It was that tip she had procured from Chris at ZNN regarding the rapist sheep living in Tundra Town. One of his common outings was a local pub just on the east side of the district and according to the scrawl on the paper, tonight was one of his scheduled visits to that establishment. If she didn't act now, she would miss the chance at him again until three days from now. She didn't have the time to go shadowing his movements waiting for an opening when she already had the knowledge right here in her paws as to his next destination.

Steeling her nerves, she fought back the urge to roll back into bed and lifted the mattress up off the box spring to reach her new suit given to her by Billy. She had made a brief stop at the homestead before heading to Mercy Hospital and lacked a better place to hide it on a moment's notice. She marveled at the looser feel of the material and purred at the feel of her hook gauntlets as she fastened them around her wrists.

Curious to test them out, she pressed one of her palm buttons and a hook flared out, zipping across the room before making a huge hole in the wall, spitting chunks of whitewall across the grass carpeting. "Shit!" She exclaimed as she pressed the button again and the hook retracted and folded in its fins back into her gauntlet. "Holy crap, that is fast." She shook her head, knowing she would have to caulk that damage on her own without the knowledge of the apartment complex.

Cringing at the smell, she took the last remaining can of skunk musk and sprayed it on her suit. Although she loved her son dearly, she would be glad of the day that she wouldn't have to use his scent anymore to mask her own. Maybe she'd ask Billy the next time she saw him to see if he could invent something that could mask her scent without the usage of other mammals and potentially implicate them in the process.

Murana opened the verandah sliding doors, breathing in the small sting of chlorine. The odor whipped through the wind generated by the electrical storm, which was now in full swing. Streaks of lightning danced across the sky at swift intervals, illuminating the buildings below in a cavalcade of colors. This was far worse than she had anticipated. As dangerous as it was, she had a mission tonight. She would take the lower buildings to traverse Zootopia. The higher ones were just too risky and she did not want to be burnt to a crisp by an errant bolt since skunk musk was highly flammable.

Leaping off the balcony like she usually did, she aimed for the lower of the complexes around her suite. She yelped loudly as she swung haphazardly through the air, unacquainted with the new speed and nuances of these hook wires. She smashed side first into a window, forming a small crack as she cried out. She began to fall as she hastily shot out her other gauntlet hook towards an opposing building. Securely hooked, she pressed the other button, curled up her first trial and swung over to the next.

"Sweet pile of chicken feathers!" She swore, swaying over to the next structure. This was far different than her previous setup. It would take a minute for her to get the hang of these new upgrades.

With some finagling, Murana eventually made it over to the eastern side of Tundra Town, albeit in a fashion that took far longer than she would have liked. The bulk of the storm was further to the west, resulting in far less lightning on this edge of the city. She skidded to a halt just above the Ivory Bun, a rather prominent pub that catered to winter-furred mammals with all sorts of liquor and bar foods.

Balancing over the edge of the curved rooftop, she surveyed the street below. It would probably be another hour or two before her mark would leave and blunder back home completely drunk. It would be a rather long stakeout, but if it meant one less vile individual in the world, she was willing to stick it out. Curling her tail around her, she sat down and prepared for a long sit.

Shaking the small flecks of snow drifting across this part of Zootopia, she sniffed the air and looked westward towards Happytown. The fur on the back of her neck was standing on end. She sensed that the storm was accumulating over that district. A hard pinging in the back of her mind galvanized her to her feet. The central nucleus of the clouds was over Tundra Town last night when Pale Moon Orphanage was struck. It was now over Tail Hollow! This was not some coincidental storm!

"I always suspected it to be you." A familiar voice echoed off from her left. "I just had to be sure before I confronted you."

"Confronted me?" She turned to the orange-hooded figure, wearing a contrasting set of fatigue pants. She picked up a whiff of his smell, the side of her lip rising in disgust. "It's you."

"Guess it isn't hard to figure out my scent, considering I don't have my own son's musk to cover it up." Chris retorted, pulling back his hoodie and revealing his brown ears. "It also wasn't hard to figure out that every time I gave Steven a 'tip,' it would somehow end up with you coming to call and the cops are left with a burnt body."

"So what? You going to turn me in? How did you even follow me in the first place?" She scoffed, disliking Chris even more now. She made a mental note to remind Steven later to not associate with this prick of a maned wolf.

"Actually no, I came here to talk you out of something and I did not follow you. In fact, that 'tip' I gave you to give to Steven was actually a red herring. It was actually meant for you to meet me here so we could talk face to face without masks. From one vigilante to another." He offered, raising a paw out for understanding.

Murana clucked her tongue, "Vigilante…is that what you think I am?"

"Well, aren't you?" His ears flicked in confusion as he tilted his head. "We both fight for justice and defeat the bad guys before they can harm anyone else, sometimes doing a few things outside the law just so that we can serve it."

"Bad guys? Justice? You sound just like a child. Things aren't as black and white in the real world." She admonished, crossing her arms. "These people are killers, vile and despicable. They do not need to be 'defeated' or jailed. They need to be put down for good."

"That isn't how heroes work!" He shouted, getting awkwardly angry. "We fight to protect the innocent and put the criminals behind bars. Tie them up and let the police handle the rest."

"Heroes?" She asked dubiously. "You're a greater fool than I took you for. The cops aren't going to hold these despicable mammals for long. There will come a time where some loop hole will be exploited or lack of substantial evidence will be proposed and they'll be loosed again on the populace, free to harm and molest innocent females and children again. There is no justice to be had here in Zootopia except the justice that we make for ourselves!"

"But is killing really the answer? Does burning them alive make you any better than they are?" He reasoned, taking another step towards her, hoping he could subdue her some other way. He realized that rationalizing it out with her wasn't exactly going to work.

"Who cares what that makes me?! What matters is that they no longer can harm anyone else ever again!" She spat.

"Yet you are harming them." Chris pointed out, taking another step closer.

"They gave up their rights to live the moment they hurt others." She concluded firmly. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work. I have my own mission and you cannot stop me from it." She looked back down briefly at the street. "This sheep was not real was he?"

Chris shook his head, taking another step. "Nope, he's real. However, he did none of the things I said he did. That note was just to get you up here."

"Well now that you had your talk with me, you can move along now. I have to get back home and it would be unwise to follow me." She warned, her eyes flinging daggers.

"Knowing you'll just be out here again killing someone else and burning them to a crisp, I can't really just sit back and let it happen. I wouldn't be able to live with myself." He shifted a hind paw back and brought out a nunchuck, letting half of it dangle down the side of his leg. His sleeve rolled back from the motion, revealing the scratches on his arm. "I stopped you last night from getting a clean kill, and I'll stop you again tonight."

"Last night?" Her eyes grew wide, ears flattening as she realized where those scratches came from. "That was you busting up those cats and ruining my perfect shot?" A low growl rumbled deep in her throat. She didn't like it when others interfered into her affairs.

"Of course! I also knew about their deal going down that night and knew you'd be there too! I had to stop you from killing anyone else." He began spinning the nunchuck in a lazy circle.

"I knew I should have trusted my gut feeling about you the moment we met. Sly like a fox, one would say." She susurrated. Lowering a paw to her belt, she unclasped a pouch where her Kunai were kept. "You look like a fox and smell like one too. Why should I have expected anything less?"

Chris's snout twitched in irritation at the word. "What did you call me?"

"You heard me." She grinned, ready for the fight now. "Only a fox would be so conniving to come up with some lie to get me to come out here just to talk. What are you going to do next, hustle me for my money? Like every other fox in town?"

"They're not like that! I'm not a fox, I'm a maned wolf!" His calm breaking, memories of his past coming back to haunt him as this bully of a wolf was calling him names.

"Keep telling yourself that, kid." Murana chuckled, her paw dipping into the pouch. "The resemblance is uncanny. Did you dye your fur because you sympathized with them? Wanting to be like one? It's not like you have to try hard with the way you look." She could see his composure failing, it wouldn't take much to overtake him in a state of angst.

"Stop it right now! I'm warning you!" He barked, his teeth bared. The hackles on the back of his neck were raised, he was ready to pounce.

"Oh look, the poor, little fox is offended." She regarded him a moment. "Actually, I stand corrected. You're really not that little, you're more like a fox on stilts."

Chris howled in fury as he rushed forward, swinging his nunchuck forward with vicious velocity. This was the opening she needed from him to gain the upper hand. In a flash, she whipped out two Kunai and flung them through the air. The maned wolf yipped in surprise as each blade caught the folds of his arm sleeve, throwing him back against the nearby rooftop vent duct causing his nunchuck to sag from his entrapped paw. The metal pierced the aluminum siding, causing the hot air within to spew out into a plume of white, hot mist in the chill night.

Using his fleeting disorientation from the blast, she hurtled through the air, elbow forward to knock him out. He caught wind of her movement just in time to duck his head as she slammed into the duct inches from his ears, denting it deeply. His left arm still pinned, he thrust his right paw upwards in an uppercut. Reacting insanely fast, she leaned to the side and blocked his attack before placing a paw on each shoulder for leverage and kneeing him in the groin.

"Ugh…low blow…" The maned wolf gasped, sinking to his knees and dropping the nunchuk with a clatter.

"Do you yield?" She pressed, bearing down on him with claws out.

Looking to be in great pain, he gingerly rose his eyes to meet hers before uttering defiantly. "Never."

Murana's eyes widened with disbelief just as his leg swept her off her feet. She managed to throw her upper body backwards as her hind paws left the gravel top, giving her the momentum to catch her fall in a backwards somersault and vaulting off her paws back onto her feet. Taking the opportunity, he yanked his arm down, tearing the fabric of his sleeve and leaving two gaping holes where the Kunai has speared it to the duct.

"Aw man…that was my favorite hoodie!" Chris smacked the ground before rising up with his nunchuck in full swing.

Murana quickly brought up two more Kunai, their tips jamming upwards through the chain-link hoops connecting the two wooden ends of Chris's weapon. She had to rear her head back to avoid the flailing end as it swept past her snout, barely clipping her nose and stinging her cuts there. She jerked back hard, tugging the maned wolf forward and causing him to lurch on one hind paw. His inertia was beyond the point of recovery as his eyes bulged at the clothesline of her arm ramming into his chest, flipping him onto his back with a whine.

Hacking up his lungs at the loss of air from the impact, she descended upon him with a knee deep into his neck, repressing his ability to draw in precious air. She calmly looked down on him, "You're a young cub trying to play in adult business. You are simply not equipped to handle someone who has had decades more experience at this than you. You belong at ZNN, Chris, not out here. Do not follow me."

Straining his airway to open, paws frantically trying to remove her oppressive knee closing off his windpipe, he managed to croak, "I helped…stop those criminals last…night. We…can help each other!"

Sneering, she returned her attention back on the storm brewing over Happytown. Frequent lightning strikes were cascading down into the district. Too specific and obvious to be just coincidence. She needed to get there fast now to allay her suspicions. "You only beat those cats up because they were dumb grunts, completely untrained in the art of killing. Go home, little fox. Take your false confidence and do not follow. This is your last warning." She spoke without even looking back down at him.

"If you…won't stop killing, then...I will have to…stop you." He wheezed out, her leg digging deeper with each word to get him to shut up. He was on the verge of passing out, legs thrashing as he struggled for air.

"Very well. Then I have no choice." Murana serenely lowered her left wrist and began to coat his hoodie with a pungent oil.

"What…are you doing?" He gurgled.

"Making sure you don't follow me." She responded with chilling tranquility.

He began to flounder, his entire body trying to buck the moment he realized what she was going to do. She peacefully lowered her right paw and at the moment of releasing the hold on his neck, she lit him on fire. Without hesitation, she sprinted across the rooftop and leaped over the edge. She was already hooked onto her first building when she heard Chris wailing. Hysterically, he managed to get the hoodie off and flung it far away from him, dropping to the ground and rolling to get the rest of the flames off his person.

He was off in hot pursuit. Furious that his favorite and most sentimental piece of clothing was now ruined. He took a more circuitous route across the rooftops, unable to take a more direct route due to Murana's ability to just hook her way across. He almost despaired at being able to catch up until she took a rather curious detour through Savannah that led her straight to Happytown. Seeing an opening, he went for it and cut through several blocks to herd her at the entrance to that small district.

Pulling out another pair of nunchuks attached to the loops of his belt, he soared off one building just a few floors higher than the one he spotted Murana on. In mid-air, he chucked his weapon at her legs with stunning accuracy. It snapped around her ankles, causing her to cry out in shock as she tumbled forward onto her face.

She rolled over onto her back, scrunching up her legs so her knees were up to her chin just as Chris's paws hit the deck. While still on her back, she flipped her arms around so her palms were on the ground before exploding her legs out at Chris who was charging at her prone form. The impact of her hind paws on his chest catapulted him back across the rooftop, causing him to wobble backwards over the edge. With a small whimper, he teetered and fell over backwards.

Untangling herself from the nunchuk, she looked over into the street to see him desperately hanging onto a flagpole, his hind paws clawing for some pawhold on the draping flag. She smirked, "I hope you've learned your lesson. Now be a good fox and stay down."

Ignoring his protestations, she resumed her sole pursuit of reaching Tail Hollow Orphanage. Murana had just vaulted over the final cooling unit when she beheld something in the sky she thought she would never see again. The bottom of a huge, iron structure was peeking out through the clouds. Its sides flanked by gargantuan, purple ballast balloons, windows built into the siding of each. At the front of the aircraft was a dipping hunk of metal shaped like a vulture's beak and several propellers on the back end keeping the thing aloft. The symbol on the upright tail fin was that of a skull and crossbones.

It was from this structure that two massive cannons were protruding from the front of each balloon, aimed downward at Tail Hollow and blasting the roof off with concentrated bolts of pure lightning. She could hear the screaming of all the kids and the anguished cries of mammals as the smell of burning fur hit her nose.

As much as the sight of that iron vulture struck fear to her very core, she knew she needed to get to Max and get him out of there immediately. Swinging from each railing of the descending fire escape, she launched herself through the third story window, shattering it into a million pieces as she rolled in onto her hind paws. In an instant, she was bursting out of the room and down the halls.

She could see multitudes of cubs fleeing to and fro in abject terror. Bulky shapes were rounding them up, picking up two or even three at a time underneath each arm. Without warning, she launched a hook into the shoulder of the nearest canine, hearing his roar of pain as its fins flared out within his flesh. Heaving it back as she ran towards him, he flopped to the floor. She was immediately upon his back, driving a Kunai deep into the base of his skull as she twisted it savagely. His entire body went slack.

The dropped kids looked at her in fright, running away from her as if she was one of the others. Flouting the dead corpse beneath her, she tore down the hallway. Another canine emerged from the door nearby. She sprayed the slow burning oil onto his face in passing, wrapping an arm around his neck before flipping over and slamming him face first into the floor. There, she let loose a small blast of flame from her other wrist, letting him writhe in screaming agony as she continued on towards Max. She began to pant as she could feel the slight tearing of her stitches on her abdomen, but she couldn't give up now.

The biggest collection of screams was coming from the central foyer as it seemed the kids were being rounded up together and being transported by bunches in massive rope nets, being lifted into the sky to be enveloped in the cargo bay of the aircraft above. Each group of kids were batched up by type and the adult caretakers were cordoned off by themselves at the far side of the room. Murana was on each intruder in a heartbeat; twisting limbs, gouging out eyes, flipping them over the railing to the floor below and swiftly killing many.

"Stop, I say!" A lilting voice boomed out in the gloom, the flashes of lightning above doing little to illuminate his face. "Such grace! Such form! But you will go no further or our poor, dear Matron gets it."

The figure snatched the panther from the pile of sniveling adults at his feet and held a jagged scimitar to her neck. Murana was not daunted by the bluff and continued onward, tripping another lackey who dared get in her way. She could see Max huddled alongside other kits with his knees up to his chest, hands bound behind his back. He didn't even register her presence, his mind lost somewhere else.

"Such a shame." The figure clucked, his voice way too jovial for the nature of his work. "I do not like to resort to such measures, such violence. Killing is so unbecoming, but if I am forced to it then I shall!" With a scream from another caretaker looking on, he sliced the panther's throat from ear to ear. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she gurgled and crumbled to the floor, crimson staining the wooden floorboards. "Such a waste of a beautiful female. Ah, but such is life."

"Let them go or I will kill you." She said with seething malice. All muscles in her body taut and her heart racing.

"Hmm, that voice…" The figure mused before stepping out into the light to reveal himself.

He was a fox like any other, but garishly dressed in a navy blue captain's vest with gold buttons down each side of his breast. His wrist cuffs were of bright red along with the sash at his waist line holding up a pair of cyan pants. Murana was rooted to the spot at the sight of him, memories of dread and terror flooding her senses, but the fox did not notice or care.

"I can tell you mean business. I do too." The fox quickly hauled a giraffe calf up by the scruff of his long neck, legs kicking at him in the air as he was held aloft, braying and crying. Without ceremony, the intruder drove the scimitar through the kid's stomach as the legs dropped lifeless. Pulling the cold steel out, he flung the small body aside. "I don't need all of them alive, you see, just a few. So what is it going to be?"

He reached over and picked up Max by the neck, lifting him high into the air. The raccoon gave no resistance, his limbs and tail just hanging lifeless already. At the sight of him being the next to die, Murana's resolve broke. She fell to her knees as she stared on in helpless agony, whining as the wounds on her stomach began to seep again. The demons of her past were being made manifest before her very eyes and she broke into a cold pant, unable to handle the panic attack that was threatening her calm and causing her to go mad.

"Don…Karnage." She breathed.

The fox cocked his head to the side, lowering his scimitar from Max's abdomen. "Yes? It is I, the great pirate, Don Karnage! But how did you know who I am?"

He flung the compliant Max over his shoulder before advancing on the wolf, his scimitar held out before him. He picked up her scent, his nose crinkling at first from the skunk stench permeating around her, but then filtering out her true scent from within the mess of musk. He began to laugh heartily, a big, boisterous bellow that rose from his belly.

"Ha! What a glorious day it is today, men! Not only have we succeeded in two successful raids in the heart of this wretched city, but our long lost sister has returned to us!" He waved his scimitar around as if drumming up applause for this momentous occasion.

"No…" Was all Murana was able to utter as she felt like a little cub again in the face of this monstrous nightmare from the past.

"Ah-ah-ah, though…" Karnage snickered, as he pointed his weapon at her lower abdomen. "Last I recall, we did not leave on very good terms, did we? Oh no…! We each left a mark on the other." He inclined his head, flopping his left ear down as her eyes were drawn towards the healed flesh of what looked like bite marks that had ripped out portions of it.

Shaking his head in mirth, he signaled some men to come bind her. It was clear she was not going to be putting up any more of a fight. Readjusting Max on his shoulder, he knelt down until he was face to face with her. Taking her chin in his paw, he forced her to look directly into his tawny eyes.

"Welcome home, Pet." He cackled with glee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always have the most joy when writing Murana's vigilante scenes. I feel like the entire scene just flowed out of my fingers and didn't let up until it was finished. First, however, I needed to get through another spat of drama that had to set the scene for future events with Anthony. It was a difficult section to write, one where I used my own experiences with relationships and my own personal fights to fuel the flames of the tension and anger bubbling between Murana and Anthony. It was necessary to do this to shatter the last remaining thread Murana had to any sort of support system, to make her truly alone for what happens next. As for the second vigilante scene, I had promised a friend a fantastic altercation and I hoped I delivered on the rooftops of Zootopia. It was a fight that was long in coming and foretold over a year ago in Discord, but I was happy to finally get it out on the page. Finally, the ending scene where I introduced the primary villain of the story was a real treat. I had to do a lot of research and watching an old TV show to get him just right. Even then, I did not want a rehash of what his character was before. I wanted to establish very quickly he was going to be quite different while still maintaining who he was as a character, something I hope readers can appreciate and enjoy. Enjoy the cliffhanger!


	8. Wednesday - Trailing the Flames - The Third Morning

_Downtown – Mercy Hospital – Southern Savannah off Oasis Plaza  
_ _Wednesday – 7:18 AM – Sporadic Clouds / Misty_

"Grayz. Grayz! Wake up." A small voiced echoed through his brain.

"Please…call me Ralph." He muttered, shifting sluggishly in his sleep.

The wildebeest's eyes fluttered open, the harsh, glaring light causing them to sting from their brightness. A splitting headache slammed into his skull as he groaned from the sudden inhale of lingering stench. He lurched up out of bed, gagging as the memory of what had happened surged back into his mind. A soft, tiny paw was placed upon his chest, urging him to lie back onto the sterile hospital bed.

"Hey, big guy. Take it easy." A bunny was sitting beside his large form, her purple eyes regarding him warmly. "Yeah, the smell was pretty awful too when I awoke."

"Hnngh, Hopps?" He groaned. "What happened?"

"We both passed out. That's what happened." She stated matter-of-factly.

Ralph looked around his environs, blinking as he took stock of where he was. "How long have we been out?"

Judy glanced over at the atomic clock on the nightstand beside the bed, "Over 24 hours. We basically lost a day."

A grunt of disapproval emerged from his throat as he rose to get up again. "This is unacceptable. I need to get back to my family."

Judy placed her paw back onto his chest, gently, but firmly pressing him back. "Easy, Grayz. They aren't due to release us just yet. The doctor's given us a clean bill of health as soon as you were awake. There will be a perpetual aura of stink that we'll be experiencing for the remainder of the day, but he said that too will pass. Once the nurse gets back, we can take our final showers, get dressed and go home."

"Dressed?" He asked, confused. "What happened to our uniforms?"

Judy chuckled at his bafflement. "Officer Wilde came by and said he'd handle the cleaning of our uniforms."

"With a nose like his? That's brave of him." Grayz uttered with astonishment.

"That's my Nick." She said cheerfully. At a curious look from Grayz, she cleared her throat and continued, "Either way, he picked up some spare clothes from my home and your wife."

"My wife!" The memory of his need to get back home came back quite forcefully. "Did they ever come over yesterday to visit us while we were out?"

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Only Wilde, Bogo and a few other colleagues came by from what I've heard. We were declared biohazards and civilians were not permitted to come within a building's distance of us."

"My son's probably worried so much." Ralph aggrieved.

"I never knew you had a son." She tilted her head, genuinely interested.

He nodded, "Only the one. I was actually visiting an orphanage the day of my first shift here to look for a playmate for him."

"Playmate? You aren't looking to have another calf?" She brought her other leg up from the side of the bed and sat cross-legged, facing him directly.

His shoulders sagged, his dark, grey eyes piercing hers. "We tried. Our son was very much a miracle. The doctors claimed he was not to be born at all, yet we had him. My wife had to be placed into intensive care just after the birth and then steril…I'm sorry." He choked up. "I usually don't speak of personal matters to many others."

Judy's face softened. "It's okay, Grayz. I wasn't trying to pry.

Ralph shook his head to allay her fears, "No, you're fine. I just didn't expect to unload that much onto you. I just feel really homesick right now."

She patted his leg a few times. "I know the feeling. You at least have the benefit of having your family living here in Zootopia with you. Mine are all the way out in Bunnyburrow. Not that I mind much. I do like the freedom I get here, and with Nick Wilde around, I don't really have to be worried about being alone."

"You two seem very close." He smiled. "I don't have many friends here just yet, being reassigned here and all. I barely got to know anyone at the precinct before I was out on the beat for my first shift. Hopefully, everyone doesn't think less of me being taken down on my first night on the job. It is kind of embarrassing."

She shared his mirth, "I wouldn't worry about it. I've had to work hard to get the respect I get around here and even I got taken down just the same as you. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Not many people got as close as we did to capturing the Dark Flame Wolf."

The fur on the back of his mane bristled with unease. "Come close? You mean she hasn't been captured yet?"

Judy's face fell, "You didn't know? It's been over a decade and no one has caught this wolf."

"No one?" His jaw dropped, aghast. "But we almost had her last night! She was right between our hooves!" He brought his up for emphasis, angry now.

Ears drooping, she agreed, "I know. In fact, this was the first night I had seen her personally. I really felt I could take her on. Just when I thought we had the upper hand, she got the drop on us."

"Surely someone has investigated this and tracked the evidence!" He protested; feeling a need to rant. "You said she's been making these sorts of killings for over a decade? There must be some sort of pattern to her targets. Some evidence left behind at each crime scene. Maybe Officer Wilde or other scent-savvy troopers can track her scent?"

She glumly shook her head, "The killings seem to be as random as they are brutal. Not much is left behind to be of much use and she masks her scent behind a façade of skunk musk. The only thing we've been able to determine is that she is a female wolf."

Ralph fell back onto the bed in frustration, "So everyone is just going to give up on tracking her down? Hasn't anyone decided to isolate the skunk musk and figure out who it is from?"

Judy shrugged, "I hear you. I don't like this criminal any better than you do. I'd stop her myself if I had a lead on her whereabouts, and maybe you can see if you can find a mammal willing enough to smell skunk intimately to track down the scent she uses."

The gnu crossed his arms gruffly, "I really can't believe that Chief Bogo would just give up on this. After all she has done, you'd think she would be priority number one for the entire ZPD!"

"She is, if you look at the community bulletin board." She shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "I read every posting on that board my first day in the bullpen. Her case is buried under a bunch of other more immediate cases, but she's there. It just seems she's gone the way of ghost stories or the Boogey Cat. Chief Bogo just doesn't have the resources, time or money to send many out on the hunt for someone that isn't actively making headline news."

"Headline news?" He tapped a hoof finger on his arm. "What do you mean? She's burning people alive. How is this not making headline news?"

Judy looked away, holding an arm with a paw, not wanting to say what was to come. She knew it would make him more upset. "Because it seems…she actually has a following."

"What? There are more mammals out there killing?!" He roared.

"No!" Her ears shot up, a bit shocked at how violently he reacted. "Nothing like that! Rather, that she has the support of people because of who was killed."

"I don't understand." Ralph began.

Just then, the nurse rapped on the door softly. Both of them turned to see a caribou in polka-dotted scrubs, holding up a clipboard of paperwork for them to sign. "I hope I'm not intruding." She beamed. "I'm Grisele and I'm here to help file your discharge papers." She strode into the room and handed them each a pen and a sheet. "Please read over these for accuracy and sign at the bottom and you'll be free to go."

They each signed hastily before returning the papers back to the caribou. "Thank you." Judy nodded, giving her a big smile.

"No problem, ma'am." She bowed at the two of them. "Feel free to use the showers and collect your belongings and leave when you are ready." With another look, she headed out into the hallway and out of sight.

"Well, that's our cue." Judy clapped her paws and bounded off the bed.

"Will I see you at the station?" Ralph inquired, turning his lower half to dangle his legs off the side.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "No. I'll be at home resting today. Chief Bogo has given us the day off to recuperate from this. He'll want us in his office first thing tomorrow for a full debrief however."

Ralph grunted, not pleased. "That's unusual."

"Not really." Judy chimed in, now more intent on gathering her stack of neatly pressed clothes and picking them up under one arm. "The Chief may act surly and gruff all the time, but inside I know he's a big softie. It's things like this that give him away." She gave him a bright look before giving a wave, "There is a taxi card on the stand over there. It's already prepaid by the ZPD. Just give them a call when you're ready to head home. See you tomorrow, Grayz."

"See you." He waved back, not feeling as cheerful.

How could she be so nonchalant about all of this? Did they both not witness a murder being committed before their very eyes? Did they both not get assaulted by a villain in a red suit? It seemed surreal that he was expected to just continue his day as if nothing was wrong. With the enduring scent of musk hovering in his nostrils, he headed off to the showers to give himself a quick rinse down before heading home. His mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions.

* * *

_Savannah Central – Grand Pangolin Arms – Economy Family Floor – Room 412  
_ _Wednesday – 8:51 AM – Sporadic Clouds / Slightly Windy_

Grayz looked up from the frame of the doorway as he struggled to get out of the rather small cab that had come to pick him up from the hospital. The clouds had cleared a bit since the past few days and the sun was peeking through the gloom, shining shafts of light onto the tall, gleaming spires below. He had directed the driver to escort him to the Grand Pangolin Arms, a rather economy-priced apartment complex that wasn't exactly the best, but served the purpose of his paycheck until he could promote into a better paying position in the ZPD.

"Thank you kindly." He handed the driver a fold of bills as tip before shutting the door and clopping into the front entrance of the building.

The aged pangolin looked up from her tabloid magazine, regarding him through her ridiculous spectacles, before dismissing his presence to continue reading about the latest celebrity gossip. Pressing the fourth floor button on the elevator, the wildebeest leaned uncomfortably up against the metal bar around the interior of the carriage, his eyes on the ever increasing floor number.

The Grand Pangolin Arms was not really meant for luxury, but for economy. Most floors were for primarily single mammals, but the fourth and fifth levels were regarded as the family floors where there were bigger rooms to accommodate such tenants. He paced down the grimy, wallpapered hallways as the elevator doors opened; their patterns of palm trees faded and torn from neglect. Some loud banging and yelling could be heard elsewhere on another floor as he stopped in front of his own apartment: Room 412.

Taking a small sniff of his armpits and breathing a heavy sigh, he turned the keys in the knob and opened the door. It wasn't much to look at: the main room consisted of a small kitchenette off in the corner with nothing but a sink and microwave, a small table with three wooden chairs and a TV on a dresser in the opposite corner. Only one door led off the main room which led to the bedroom that he shared with his wife and son and a small one-toilet bathroom branching off from that. The communal showers were down the hall. It wasn't much, but it was home.

His wife looked up from washing a stubbornly dirty plate in the sink and instantly melted with relief. "Ralph! You're alive!"

She dropped the plate with a clatter and rushed into his arms, her hooves gripping his back tight as they sank into each other's embrace. He petted her head, sifting through her tawny mane, reassuring her, "Of course, my love. You'd think some silly stink bomb would put me out to pasture?"

She was a head shorter than him, but no less bulky of a wildebeest. She had on a dandelion sundress that was covered over in front by a dirty cleaning apron, but Grayz did not care one bit. They had been together through a lot of hard times and this situation was like any other they've experienced. Together, he knew they could make it through.

"Papa?" A small voice came from the bedroom as a youthful calf pounded out into the main living space on crutches that seemed too big for his frame.

Ralph's expression warmed as he beheld his son. His legs were shriveled husks that ended just above the knees. He was unfortunately born with the defect and as a result had to be cared for most of his life. He didn't have many friends at home in Bunnyburrow and absolutely none here in Zootopia, and it broke his heart that he remained here all day with his mother with nobody else to talk to. The main reason Ralph even took this transfer was to get medical help for his son to improve his standard of living, a possibility that only existed in Zootopia.

"Rodney, my boy!" He extended his other hoof as he walked his wife over to both pick the calf up in their arms and enjoy a family hug.

At length, he set Rodney down and situated him back onto his crutches before sitting in a seat at the table, looking rather exhausted. His wife set down before him a small plate of greens for his breakfast as she sat opposite him. He looked at her appreciatively, "Thank you, Stella. I'm quite famished."

Her brow furrowed as she put a hoof on his leg, giving it a squeeze. "Didn't they feed you in the hospital?"

He shook his head as he spoke in-between bites, "No. I was completely comatose the moment I got knocked out by that criminal's stink bomb."

"I heard. They wouldn't even let us come see you. I was so worried!" Stella exhaled, a great burden being released from her chest now that her husband was home.

Grayz rose a hoof up to allay her fears, "I wouldn't have wanted you and Rodney to come in the condition I was in. I must have smelled something awful and it would have put you in a position to pass out. You know how you are with your asthma."

She nodded dolefully. Rodney wasn't the only reason they had come to Zootopia. So many promises of medical treatments surrounded this city and they couldn't chance waiting any longer in moving here. Her condition was getting worse. As if on cue, she began coughing violently and had to reach for a handkerchief to cover her muzzle as she hacked it out. The only thing worrying Ralph was how expensive it was to live here. Would he be promoted in time to get the money needed to pay for these treatments?

After her spasm has passed, she set the scarf down, hiding the dark stain on the other side from her husband. "So did they manage to catch the one that did this to you?" She probed hopefully.

Grayz finished his final bite of the delicious spring mix, leaning back into his chair and shaking his head. "Sadly, no. It seemed the moment Officer Hopps and I were gassed, all pursuit of this criminal halted. Nobody seems interested in going after her."

Stella looked stunned, "They aren't even following any leads?" After another shake of his head, "This would have never happened in Bunnyburrow."

"Well, you'd be right now, this wouldn't have happened there." He leaned forward onto the table, placing his snout in his hooves. "You have to remember though, it is a smaller community out there, very close-knit. Zootopia is a far bigger place and has far less cops than is ground to cover. Not many people could hide for long in Bunnyburrow, but plenty can sneak away here in the big city."

"It just doesn't seem right." She said, looking upset as she took his empty plate to go wash in the sink with the others.

Rodney, who had been quietly listening to the entire conversation, piped up. "You weren't able to catch the bad guys?"

Ralph peeked over the side of one hoof at his son. "Well actually, a lot of bad guys were caught, just not the one that got me." He shifted his attention to his wife. "Apparently, the rest of the gang wrangled up a huge drug deal going down that night. I was left with Hopps and Wilde to chase down some crazy, masked wolf."

"Hopps and Wilde…" Stella ruminated. "Isn't that that fox and bunny duo at your work? They seemed very nice when I met them the other day."

"I like them!" Rodney chippered, a beaming grin on his face. "Judy gave me a carrot to munch on and talked with me!" He seemed lost in reminiscence over that nice rabbit who chose to spend her time with him when they came to visit the station.

"Yeah, being a greenhorn to Zootopia, the Chief thought it best I tag along with them my first night. I technically wasn't supposed to be out there until today, but you know me, I was eager. Thankfully, another colleague, Anthony, decided to give me his shift last Monday." He explained, giving his son's small mane a ruffle.

"That explains that." She confirmed to herself as she finished drying the plate and setting it in the rack on the counter. She stifled another cough before drying her hooves on the apron. "So, will you be back out there today? With that wolf character still on the loose?"

"No. The Chief said Hopps and I were to take the day off and recuperate." He answered.

A wave of relief washed over her face, "Oh, thank goodness. I would have had another anxiety attack again if you had to go right back out there. I'm starting to feel like coming here wasn't such a good idea. It is too dangerous here in Zootopia."

"Oh, honey, no…" He soothed, getting up from the chair, Rodney's eyes tracking him as he moved to hold her tight. "You and I both knew this was a necessary decision. For Rodney."

"For Rodney." She repeated softly, holding him tight again.

Her nostrils began twitching as she caught a whiff of his fur. Noticing her reaction, he separated, "Yeah, I still don't think I'm fully clean. We got any cans of tomato juice? I'll take one with me to the showers and wash one more time."

"We have one left in the cupboard." Stella motioned at the cabinet doors beneath the sink. "I'll have to buy more later today."

"Thank you, love." He grabbed the can and gave her a peck on the cheek before waving to his boy. "See you in a few, squirt."

Slapping a fresh towel from the bedroom over his shoulder, Ralph exited their apartment and headed to the showers. He neatly set aside his belongings and prepped the showerhead. As the water flowed through his fur, across his rippling pecs and six-pack, he turned the events of that night and this morning over in his head. Something just wasn't adding up.

Nick Wilde knew who the Dark Flame Wolf was the moment he laid eyes on her. Judy Hopps knew who she was and even knew the decade-long investigation surrounding this mysterious figure. Two relatively new cops to the precinct knew more about this wolf than he did the moment he stepped foot out onto the streets that night. He was woefully underprepared, and now both cops just graduating from rookie status were going to just ignore this individual and act like Monday never happened.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. What justice is being served here when a vigilante killer is on the loose in Zootopia and has been for over ten years? He smacked a hooved fist into the tiled, shower wall. He knew the moment he stepped foot in that station tomorrow, he would be tasked to tackle some other case. He would be drawn away, be made busy with other things, and this would get swept under the rug like it had so many times before.

His wife was terrified for his life and he hadn't even been on the beat for a single day here in Zootopia. They came here to get better medical care for both her and their son, not to turn tail at the first sign of trouble. If any progress was going to be made on this case of the burning wolf, it would have to be today. He would need to be the one to do it.

With firm resolve, he quickly finished up his rinse, almost forgetting to apply the tomato juice. Fully dried and fluffy, he paced down the hallway back to their apartment. It wasn't until he began putting on his brown jacket over his t-shirt and strapping on his jeans that Stella took notice of what he was doing.

"Ralph? Where are you going? You just got home! Aren't you going to stay for the day and hang out with your son?" It was a tactic she used often and as heartfelt the sentiment that was behind it, he hated it when she used Rodney against him.

Exasperated, he turned to her, "Stella, please understand. This is something I have to do, ok? No one else is going to do this but me."

"Can't you just wait until tomorrow and do it then?" She pleaded. Rodney's eyes shifting back and forth between them as they argued.

He vehemently shook his head, "No. I'll just be reassigned somewhere else. This day off is just the opportunity I need to track this wolf down. Did you want to feel safe here? Wouldn't putting her behind bars accomplish that?"

"Y-yes…" She admitted haltingly. After a moment, she added, "Just…just promise me you won't go after her yourself, ok?"

Grayz gave her a swift hug and kiss on the head before parting, "I don't expect to leave the station much at all today, alright?" After another bow of her head, he went over to squeeze Rodney's shoulder before opening the door to leave. "You be good today, squirt. Take care of your mother, you hear?"

"Sure thing, dad!" Rodney rejoined, putting on a brave face.

Secure that all was okay, he shut the door, leaving behind a deflated Stella and a concerned son, curious as to what was actually going on with his parents.

* * *

_Savannah Central – Zootopia Police Department – Off Freedom Circle Across from City Hall  
_ _Wednesday – 10:20 AM – Scattered Clouds / Light Winds_

Ralph felt awful for leaving his family so suddenly like that, but his conscience couldn't rest until he did everything he was capable of doing to stop this wolf who had hospitalized him. Lacking money to get another taxi, he walked the distance from his apartment to the station. It was a great day anyhow. The clouds had actually dispersed for the most part and he reveled in the rays of sun beaming down from above.

It was a short stroll through downtown until the streets opened out into Freedom Circle, the central hub of the Savannah District. Lining the exterior of the circle were major landmarks such as the Museum of History, City Hall and of course, the ZPD. The oasis lake in the center, flanked by a grove of palms, was a beautiful sight and a testament to the majesty of this great city. It was a shame, he thought, that it had an undercurrent of filth just beneath its perfect surface.

The gleaming, bronze spires protruding from the grassy rooftop of the ZPD framed the impressive structure as Ralph filtered through the morning traffic and into its front façade. The triple-decker tiered foyer was striking to behold and impressed him the first time he stepped foot into his new job. Several floors above had balcony railings overlooking the atrium below, the entire structure centered on the welcoming counter, manned primarily by a rotund cheetah of a particular donut fascination.

"Good morning, Officer Clawhauser!" Ralph boomed as he stepped up, placing an arm on the marble top, trying to act casual.

The cheetah didn't seem to have noticed him until being addressed directly. Fumbling with a cell phone, some loud pop music playing loudly from it, he shoved the device in a cubby hole underneath his desk and flashed a big smile at the gnu. "Morning! What a fantastic day it is today." He looked confused as he studied Ralph's face. "Have we met before? You look really familiar to me."

Ralph sighed, putting a hoof to his temple. Nick had warned him of the attention span of this cheetah. "Officer Grayz. You met me just this past Monday."

Throwing his paws up in supplication, "Right, right, right, right, right! I knew that! Was just testing you." A loud cough. "So how can I help you today, Officer Grayz?"

Tapping the counter top a few times, "Can you tell me if my paperwork went through today? For my system access clearance?"

After a few blinks, realization dawned on Clawhauser's face as he scrambled through a haphazard mess of papers and folders. "Of course. I remember seeing it somewhere in here this morning." Ralph raised an eyebrow at this. At length, with a satisfied purr of accomplishment, Clawhauser pulled out a semi-crumpled piece of paper. "Yes, it says it was approved right here as of 0600."

"Great!" Ralph beamed as he opened up the top donut box to see a variety of sprinkles, icing and sugared fat. Not really relishing the idea of eating one, but still feeling extremely hungry, he pointing to a glazed plain. "Mind if I take one?"

"Of course," the cat waved a paw off in his direction, "Some tell me they make me fat. I could stand to lose a few pounds." He exhaled morosely, looking off in the distance.

"You? Naw…" The gnu sheepishly comforted. "You appear to be in the prime of your life." He finished, taking a bite of his freshly procured pastry.

"It's okay. You don't have to lie to make me feel better. I know how people look at me." He glanced askance at the wildebeest.

Ralph winced. He did not want to get entangled in a story that would take the better part of the morning when he had so much to do. "Well, I think you are fine just the way you are." He patted the cheetah's shoulders a few times, giving him a consoling smile.

"Thanks, buddy." Clawhauser gave a furtive smirk, but then turned back to his station, wondering if he should go after his phone again or another donut to make him feel better.

With a final nod, Ralph finished up his own donut and headed over to the greenhorn cube farm. It wasn't glamorous and it was definitely where they placed the newbie cops who joined the precinct. He didn't mind though. He knew his place in the grand ladder hierarchy here. He would have to prove himself to his superiors that he could get a job done. If he could at least make some headway on this Dark Flame Wolf case, then that could go a long way for a better position within the force.

It was already during the busiest part of the morning. The early morning bullpen brief had finished and people were actively working on their cases, setting up plans for the remainder of the day on how best to go about completing them. Technically his day off, he could arrange his own personal outline of tasks with a bit more freedom. Slipping into an unmarked and empty cubicle, he pulled out the rolling chair and sat down before the computer.

Inwardly celebrating that his new username and password got him past the initial login screen, he was in the police system and able to do some research. He double-clicked on the icon symbolizing the database, bringing up a non-intuitive search and results display screen. This seemed like ancient programming. Even his own unit back in Bunnyburrow had a more advanced search and tracking tool than this.

Disregarding the dated tool he was using, Ralph put in the plain text words of Dark Flame Wolf into the system and hit enter. Hundreds of hits came back, almost a dizzying array of them. Leaning back in his chair, he felt daunted by the sheer number of cases that involved this individual. He marveled that after all this time, they still had not caught this criminal. With renewed determination, he resolved that she would be caught soon.

First things first, he needed to know how she operated. He opened up a case at random and read through the report. A rhino was burned alive in front of a flower shop. Had no family in the city and worked as a tax consultant at a prestigious firm. Pulling up another file: This time it was an anteater, also burned alive. Had a wife and two kids. Worked for a car manufacturing plant. Ralph puzzled over these two separate cases. These two victims couldn't be further apart in terms of relating factors.

It was clear that she liked to burn her victims, letting the flames finish the job, but how was she accomplishing this? Reading through a few more files, multiple lab results came back positive for a toxin that was known to induce paralysis in their subjects. So she immobilized them first before delivering the coup de grâce. This would explain why there were no pawprints on scene, she never touched her targets if she could help it.

What mystified the gnu was the sheer variety of victims. There was no distinction between prey or predator, small or large, male or female, criminal scum or family man. Every one of them died the same way. So trying to link up a common thread between the targets by way of life or what they did for a living wasn't going to produce anything worthwhile. In fact, some of those burned didn't even have a single spot on their record. They appeared to be completely innocent.

He brayed, frustrated, slouching back in the chair with his arms crossed. It had been over an hour and he was still no closer to figuring out a direct lead on how best to track down this masked killer. Pawprints, none. Cause of death articles available, none. Witness testimonies, none. Everywhere he turned, there were dead ends. He was so close to catching her Monday night and she slipped right through their hooves.

Ralph's eyes shot open as he thought about it. They were extremely close to capturing her on Monday! Perhaps a report had already been put into the system of that incident? It was worth a shot. He researched the name and scrolled to the most recent entry. It appeared to be a draft and uploaded as of 1845 the previous evening. It didn't matter, a report in any form of that night might prove useful here.

It was penned by Officer Wilde. The prose and formatting were atrocious, but it was still readable. What was of special interest to him was the fact that the ocelot was named Javier Sanchez and he was taken in critical condition to Mercy Hospital. That meant he might actually have a witness and someone to question once he recovered. More things of note was that several items from the criminal were tagged, bagged and were being analyzed in the laboratory now!

Excited, he picked up the desk phone and began dialing the numbers that would connect him to the evidence lab technician. After an obnoxious amount of ringing, a click was heard as the voice on the other end began to drone, "This…is…Raina. How…may…I…help…you?"

Ralph groaned as he recognized the unmistakable talking gait of a sloth. Of course they would have someone like that working the evidence storage and lab. You would need someone detail-oriented who wouldn't rush things. Still, that would make this current request that much more aggravating.

Putting on his most cheerful tone, "Raina! This is Officer Grayz. I am new to Precinct 1, but I do have clearance to the system and database. I know it isn't my case, but can I make a request to have a look at the evidence collected from this past Monday involving the Javier Sanchez murder attempt?"

"Of…course…Let…me…e…mail…you…the…form…to…fill…out…Just…one…moment…please." She chirped happily, feeling needed for once.

"Thank you so much!" He said, swiftly hanging up the phone before Raina could say anything further and delaying this investigation more.

He nearly leaped out of his skin as he was waiting for the email when a brazen, yet sultry voice spoke behind him. "Don't get too wrapped up in this work on your day off or the Chief might have a mind to not give you anymore!"

Ralph swiveled his chair around to see a short pig dressed in her blues leaning on his cubicle with an arm. She was round and voluptuous as only a mother pig could be with those hips after childbirth. She was regarding him with amused interest. "I apologize, but have we met?" He asked, confused.

She shot out a hoof for him to shake with a grin, "The name is Officer Swinton. Pleasure to meet you. What brings the newbie in today when he was given the day off to recoup?"

The gnu stopped a moment before answering. It wasn't like what he was doing was anything illegal or against the rules. However, it was rather unusual that he would be investigating a case that wasn't his without proper paperwork authorization, and that might land him in some hot water with the Chief when he shouldn't even be here at all. Against his better judgment, he knew his conscience wouldn't rest until he had made some headway today on the case, so he had to come up with something that would assuage Swinton.

He motioned back to his monitor, "I'm just waiting on an e-mail from Raina to see when I can recover something of mine from the crime scene I was involved in."

"Oh, that?" She tittered, taking pity on the new recruit. "If your personal property got mired in that mess, it'll be ages before it is cleared to be released back to you and not just because Raina is a sloth!" More laughter.

Ralph lowered his ears in irritation, "Are you saying she can't be fast?"

She wiped a tear from her eye, "No, no, no. What I'm saying is that you'll have to wait until the full investigation is complete and all items are verified and filed in the report before they'll start going through each piece of evidence and assigning it back to their proper owners, if they have any and it isn't necessary for the resolution of the case. If you're expecting an email regarding that, you might as well check back next month!"

"Hmmm, that isn't how we did things back at Bunnyburrow." He grumbled.

"Well, you're not in Bunnyburrow, hun." She gave him a wink. "We do things differently here in the big city."

"Yes, so I've gathered." He was still not happy with how much things were different, and sometimes not for the better.

"You should take advantage of this rare opportunity Chief Bogo has extended to you and head on home. Be with your wife and kid. They need you more right now." She suggested softly.

"How would you know that?" Ralph was a bit unnerved. News about family and personal life seemed to travel fast around the precinct. Were people here just that close or were they just nosy? At least in Bunnyburrow, there was a protocol of privacy that was followed, despite it being a close-knit community.

"I'm a mother." Swinton stated matter-of-factly. "And another parent can spot their own. Go home, Grayz. You need the day off." She reached out and gave his hoof a small squeeze before waving and sauntering down the row of cubicles.

Ralph knew that she was probably right. Even just getting the paperwork approval to access items of interest from that night would be mired in bureaucracy. He glanced over at the screen again and saw his sparse inbox still empty of new e-mails. It would probably take Raina another hour or two to even get it ready for him, let alone getting it ready to send it to him to fill out. With another sigh, he signed out of his workstation and got out of the chair, pushing it in as he did so.

He knew he didn't have much to go off of here. He knew it wasn't his place to go off to Mercy Hospital and see if he could question Javier on his connections with the Dark Flame Wolf. This was probably one big fool's errand, but if there was a single chance he could make a name for himself on the force in Zootopia, he had to take it. He needed to do this for his family. Something about this case screamed that he needed to be the one to solve it.

Flipping back on his brown jacket that he had put on the back of his chair, Ralph surveyed the cubicle before heading out. Resolving himself to his course of action, he headed out to the foyer and studied the city map mural on the back wall behind the central tower where Clawhauser sat. The hospital wasn't that far away, so he could walk there with minimal effort.

With a nod to a few colleagues he hadn't the faintest clue what their names were, Ralph exited out the doors and into the midday sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a very refreshing chapter to write. I knew that this would be quite the shocking swerve for most readers, eager and curious to find out what happens to Murana next after being captured by Don Karnage, our surprise guest villain. However, I knew that her story would be filled in much later in subsequent chapters and days, so there was no need to detail each and every thing of her experience now. This was the time to flesh out other original characters and to see how they interact and are involved within the world of Zootopia and its people. Based on how things turned out and who was with Judy Hopps at the time of the initial encounter with the Dark Flame Wolf, it seemed most fitting to follow Ralph Grayz, the greenhorn cop from Bunnyburrow, for the duration of day 3. We get to see the world of Zootopia through his lenses and his internal beliefs and values. We take a look at the overall system from a different perspective than say maybe Judy or Nick. With Ralph leading the charge as the protagonist for this specific day, it was finally a good way to dive deep into the history behind Dark Flame Wolf and really dig into the impact she has made within Zootopia to those who do not know her intimately. I also felt it a fun change of pace to have someone tracking her down, following the bread crumbs and slowly piecing together the puzzle that surrounds her while at the same time, constantly drizzling out bits and pieces of pertinent information that the reader will need to know for future events. Hopefully, people can respect this bold decision to follow another character for a time. We'll get back to Murana soon, I promise!


	9. Wednesday - Trailing the Flames - The Third Afternoon

_Downtown – Mercy Hospital – Southern Savannah off Oasis Plaza  
_ _Wednesday – 12:09 PM – Sunny/Clear Skies_

Ralph hated this place already. He had been here twice, once earlier this morning and before that with Stella and Rodney. It was a dismal visit, having to fill out paperwork and insurance forms, fully knowing that their current insurance wouldn't cover even half of the proposed costs of their visits. He was already hoping that his new work-offered insurance with the ZPD would be enough for them to manage, but that wouldn't take effect until the beginning of next month. That was several weeks away and they needed the help now.

The sterile and medicinal scent of the hospital stung his nose as he entered the building, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. As many mammals that flowed through its entrance, this was not a happy place to be. However, Ralph did have hopes that this place held the key to helping his wife and son. Her asthma was getting worse by the week now and it would be glorious to see his son actually walking on his own two legs for the first time.

Recognizing the caribou nurse who had released them this morning, he strolled up to the nurse's station with a brimming smile. "Good afternoon. It is good to see you again." He paused, unsure if that was truly meant or just common pleasantries. "I was hoping you could do a favor for me?"

The nurse looked up somewhat irritably, clearly busy with a bunch of data entry. Putting on her best face, she greeted him, "Afternoon, sir. Can I help you?"

She clearly didn't remember him, but that was fine. He shouldn't expect a nurse, who sees hundreds of patients a day, to remember someone she briefly met just this morning to release him from the hospital. To confirm his authority, he flashed his badge to her before stuffing it back in his pocket, "Ma'am, I'm with the ZPD and I would like to talk with a suspect. One Javier Sanchez. Would you please be so kind as to tell me which room he is in?"

Her expression slumped, "Oh, I'm so sorry. His room is under cordon right now."

The hair on the back of his mane stood up, "What do you mean?"

She cocked her head slightly at him, "You mean you didn't know? He died yesterday afternoon. Cause of death is still unknown, but it is pointing to asphyxiation."

This certainly was no coincidence, he knew that for sure. If Javier survived his own burning, he suspected the Dark Flame Wolf would not be the type to just let him off the hook. "I was just assigned to the case this morning, so I was not fully aware of all the details just yet." He lied.

Sighing, she typed a few things into the computer before bringing up the entry she wanted, "He is in room 4005 on the 14th floor. The elevators are just down the hall that way after the water fountains." She pointed off to her left vaguely, clearly wanting nothing more than to get back to the mountain of paperwork she had to do that day.

"Thank you very much, Ms…um…" He began.

"Grisele." She smiled, for the first time.

"Grisele, thank you." He nodded before heading down the hall.

Riding up to the given floor, he stepped out and immediately noticed several strips of police tape strewn across the room of interest. There were two elephants hunched because of the low ceiling, having a heated debate over something. He didn't quite remember the bull's name, but the female was Francine Pennington. They might even be married, he wasn't quite sure.

"What do you want, rookie?" The male grumped, swinging his trunk at him.

"Honey, stop. That's rude." Francine whapped his arm with her trunk. She turned to face Ralph more directly. "Hey there, sorry about my partner, Bob. He can be a bit demanding at times." She ignored his glare completely. "So, what can I help you with today, Officer Grayz?"

His eyebrow rose at her amazing ability to remember his name as well as his face after not even a week in the city. "I was actually hoping I could get into Sanchez's room and do some investigating to figure out cause of death." He indicated the open door behind the two elephants.

Huffing and putting his forefeet on his hips, Bob grumbled, "Seems like a pretty cut and dry case to me. The equipment malfunctioned and Sanchez died of asphyxiation from collapsed lung. The insurance companies are trying to figure out who is responsible at this point. Nothing much for us to do here, but document the incident."

Francine flapped her ears, clearly done with Bob's attitude. "So why are you curious about this? We just finished up gathering evidence for the report that I," She shot a scowl over at Bob, "will be filing later tonight."

"I'm sure you are aware that both Javier Sanchez and myself were attacked Monday night by the Dark Flame Wolf. He was her primary target and she did not complete her kill." Ralph explained matter-of-factly.

"So this is a personal vendetta, is it? You want to take on the Dark Flame Wolf all on your own?" Bob swished his trunk with agitation, just about finished with this entire conversation.

"No, that isn't it at all." The gnu stammered, a bit taken aback at the vitriol that was spewing from his colleague's mouth. Were all big city cops this ornery?

"What is it then?" Francine asked, trying to pacify the conversation.

"I was there when I went to arrest that wolf, just as she was about to commit murder. She assaulted me and escaped, but not before setting Javier ablaze. For a criminal to simply take the extra time to stop and finish the job like that, isn't it a bit too convenient that he just dies suddenly yesterday of unknown causes when found to have survived the first murder attempt?" He reasoned with them, causing even Bob to reflect thoughtfully.

"That does seem plausible." Francine admitted.

"Even if that were true, there was simply not enough evidence that we could discover in the room that would point to such a conclusion." Bob stated, folding his arms as if that settled the matter.

"All the same, I was just assigned to this case." Ralph lied again.

He was starting to feel really bad about this entire affair. As much as his common sense was screaming at him to just drop the case and ignore the obvious murder in front of his snout, he knew that he wouldn't let another person get hurt again on his watch. He wouldn't allow the law to turn a blind eye again, not like before.

"This is highly unusual." Bob's brow furrowed, his expression darkening. "Francine and I were assigned this morning. Let me call back to the station and figure this nonsense out." He stuffed his big forefoot into his pocket and pulled out a phone before tapping the big touch panel numbers with his trunk tip.

Francine lightly rapped his shoulder with her own trunk before whispering to him, "I'm going to make a quick pit stop to the loo, okay?"

He stopped dialing with a worried expression, "Is it what I think it is?"

She gave a quick glance over at Ralph, who was looking at them with interest. She said in hushed tones, "Probably nothing to be worried about. I'm only late by about a week."

"Almost two weeks." Bob hissed back.

"Shush." Giving him daggers, another look over at Ralph to be sure he didn't overhear their private conversation. "I'll test tonight, alright? Happy?" Without waiting for him to respond, she turned to the wildebeest. "It was nice seeing you again, Officer Grayz. See you back at the station! Good luck!" She waved with her trunk at him as she quickly made her way down the hallway.

"Just stay right there, I'll sort this out." Bob grumbled before turning aside and becoming absorbed in the call.

Ralph was bristling with adrenaline. He knew what he needed to do, but did he have the courage to do it? The elephant was facing away to the point his large ear was covering up all peripheral vision. He probably had a few minutes at best to sneak into the room, do a quick inspection and duck out before Bob had an inkling that he had been in there at all. He hesitated briefly. Despite him wanting to seek out justice for what was hundreds of victims, why did it seem like he was breaking some law to do it?

Steeling himself, he dipped as low as he could under the police tape, put conveniently at elephant level. He immediately went over to the bed and inspected the life support machines. They were in standby mode, a small green light indicating they were receiving power. He knelt down to the floor and trailed the cord back to the wall, nothing seemed amiss there. It was unclear if it was ever unplugged or not.

Ralph continued to survey the room quickly, yet everything was in order. It truly did look like Javier just stopped breathing and suffocated on his own broken lungs. Yet that still didn't make sense, if these machines were made to keep him alive, why did they fail suddenly? Something wasn't adding up and it was clear there was nothing more to be gained from searching this room. As Bob put it, it seems pretty cut and dry. Too clean. The only thing of note was the slight hint of stink lingering on the bed sheets.

Swiftly exiting the room, he was relieved to see the elephant still on the phone. It appeared he was waiting for someone on the other end to pick up. Ralph stepped forward and tapped the big guy on the arm. "Excuse me, don't worry about it. It's probably a mix up back at the station. I'll be heading back now."

With a satisfied look, Bob clicked the phone call off and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Good, I wasn't really looking forward to dealing with anymore paperwork. Stay out of trouble, Officer Grayz." He winked, lightening up a little. "It is way too early to be wrapped up in getting put in the hospital while on the job." He guffawed heartily at his jab, causing Ralph to glower.

"You have a good day, Officer Trunkaby." The gnu waved, switching back to formality. It was a cold reality that not all colleagues would be a pleasure to work with here in Zootopia, he realized.

Leaving the laughing elephant behind, he stepped into the elevator and took it all the way down to the ground floor. This entire visit had been a bust. There was nothing to be gained here, even at the scene of a murder he couldn't convince anyone what had happened right here in the hospital. No wonder everyone just turned a blind eye to anything involving the Dark Flame Wolf, it seemed it was very hard to pin things down on her. Yet he was face to face with that villain. He knew she existed and was responsible for these killings.

He was broken out of his ruminations when the ER doors busted open with nurses wheeling in a maned wolf on a gurney. He was moaning in pain and the triage technicians were already jamming in a needle into his arm as they started the IV drip. Ralph was brushed to the side, doing his best to stay out of their way as they rushed past him.

"What do we have?" The head nurse called out.

"Multiple lacerations with third and second degree burns across most of his upper body. We also have a broken femur and kneecap from blunt trauma impact." One responded almost immediately.

"Do we have a name?" She fired back.

"Yes, Christopher Guara." Another chimed in.

Ralph's ears perked up at the sound of the burns. "Excuse me, I am ZPD, may I have a word with the patient?"

The head nurse, a tiger, growled at him with teeth bared. A minor infraction in and of itself, but given the current situation, he was going to let it slide. "This fox is in critical condition, and if his leg is not set properly and these burns treated, his condition could take a turn for the worse!" She snapped, while simultaneously ordering the remaining nurses to continue pushing him in through the swinging doors to the operating rooms. "Now if you would please step out of the way, you can have all the time in the world to question him later after we have treated him!"

Left speechless at her ferocious devotion to her job, Ralph had forgotten to correct the tiger on how that patient wasn't a fox. He stared after them as they disappeared from view behind the ER doors. He noticed one of the nurse technicians who had wheeled him in off at the reception desk filling out a clipboard of papers. "I'm sorry, but would you mind telling me where that maned wolf was found?"

Without looking up at him, "He was found dragging himself along the streets of Happy Town. It looked like he had survived a very large fall. Now if you'll excuse me." She said curtly before moving away from him.

With all leads pointing to dead ends here, Ralph hung his head and trudged out of Mercy Hospital. He had come here with such high hopes only to be met with failure. The only thing that followed him back to the ZPD was the persistent stench of skunk.

* * *

 _Savannah Central – Zootopia Police Department – Off Freedom Circle Across from City Hall_  
_Wednesday – 1:26 PM – Sunny/Clear Skies_

"Afternoon Clawhauser, hope you are doing better!" Ralph greeted upon entering the ZPD foyer, doing his best to appear cheerful.

The cheetah looked up from his phone, seemingly lost in some rowdy Gazelle app. Remembrance dawned on his face as he regarded Ralph. "Oh, oh! The Chief wanted to speak with you!"

This was unusual and somewhat disconcerting. "What about?" He asked warily, stepping up to the desk.

Stashing the phone away in a shelf beneath the reception marble top, Clawhauser stared blankly at the wildebeest. "What about what?"

"What the Chief wanted to talk to me about." Ralph gently reminded.

"Right, right, right!" Clawhauser admonished himself. "It was something about doing more than you should."

"That's it?" Ralph flapped his ears impatiently.

The cheetah's face fell, "Well yeah, that and he told me that I need to stop eating so many donuts."

"I'm sure he has your best interests at heart." Ralph consoled, genuinely meaning his words.

It wasn't right for an officer to be in the shape Benjamin Clawhauser was in. Not only was it unhealthy, but it was not becoming of a police officer who could be called upon to do physically demanding tasks. Ralph resolved to later invite Clawhauser to join him in his training regime to help the cheetah get back into a more fitting body type.

"I keep trying to move on from them, but it's like they keep calling me back." He flicked off a colored sprinkle from his blouse.

Leaning an arm on the desk, Ralph agreed, "I know how that is. Sometimes your mind gets set on something, it becomes really hard to think or do much else."

"Sometimes I feel like I don't care what happens to my body. I just feel compelled to pursue this." Ben continued, finding an outlet in Ralph. "I know what some of the others think of me. They laugh at me when I'm not looking, but I sometimes hear them. I didn't always used to be this fat."

Ralph moved to speak, but was interrupted by a suave voice. "Hey, Benji Barnhouse!" The voice caroled, belonging to a crimson fox with shades perched on his brow. He paused to regard the wildebeest with curiosity. "Ah, and good to see you out and about after that stink bomb incident this Monday. I almost didn't think you'd make it through the night."

Ralph's ears flapped down flat. As much as he respected Officer Hopps, her partner, Nick Wilde, left a bit to be desired and seemed to grate on his nerves more than most. "Amazingly enough, I'm fine. The doctors did a great job removing the stench and ensuring we were in good health."

Nick sniffed a few times before wrinkling his snout. "You sure about that? I can still smell it lingering on your fur, almost like an acquaintance I bumped into yesterday. You should get a few tips from my partner, Hopps. She is already smelling right as rain."

"You already saw her this morning?" Ralph queried.

Nick shrugged. "Briefly on my way out to work. Speaking of which," He waggled a finger at the gnu, "Aren't you supposed to be having the day off? With work ethic like this, you're putting my partner to shame!" He chuckled a bit at this.

"Well…" Ralph sputtered for the words to come, "I had a few more pieces of paperwork to file for my account access here."

"But you already have an account." Clawhauser interjected, in a stark moment of clarity.

Ralph gave the cheetah a withering glance, "The point is: I need to be on my way so I can finish this up and get home to my family." He didn't know why he was so upset all of a sudden, but he just felt like he was wasting time here talking rather than investigating the current issue at hand.

"Don't forget to see the Chief! He's expecting you!" Ben chimed in once again, being very pleased with himself at being so helpful.

With a single tap of his finger, Nick knocked the shades over his eyes as he clicked his tongue at Ralph, "From experience, it's best not to keep him waiting. He can be pretty cranky at the best of times." And in a more hushed whisper, "Still, get with my partner, she can assist in your manly scent."

Leaving both the cheetah and smirking fox to their talk, Ralph waved a hoof in parting before taking the elevator to the third floor. While waiting for it to reach its destination, he raised an arm and sniffed under it, he didn't seem to smell that bad. Granted, foxes have much better senses of smell than many other mammals, but he had half a mind that Nick was making the smell seem worse than what it probably was.

His ears popped up suddenly. The stench! That's right! That criminal had access to weaponized skunk musk. She had made it into a bio-weapon capable of serious olfactory damage to the point of unconsciousness. Not to mention the odor was most likely on the Dark Flame Wolf. He just needed to cross reference any cases where skunks were involved for their musk and figure out any leads. And…didn't Nick say Ralph smelled exactly like someone he met yesterday?

Enthusiastic about this new, potential lead, he was getting ready to pop a hoof to the ground floor button when the sliding doors opened. There standing before him was Chief Bogo, who lowered his glasses at him to look over the rims. "Ah, Officer Grayz. Just the wildebeest I was wanting to see." Stuffing a folder under his arm, he motioned the gnu to follow him, "Come with me to my office."

The silence between them was oppressive. There wasn't anything outright menacing in Bogo's demeanor, but it was quite clear that he was not to be disobeyed at this very moment; not like Ralph would try anything with his current boss anyway. The Chief opened his office door and waved him on in ahead. After taking a seat in one of the chairs seated before Bogo's desk, Ralph saw the buffalo pace around the desk before sitting in his faux-leather chair with a grunting sigh.

Without a word, Bogo surveyed Ralph as he set aside the folder and took off his glasses before setting them down on a small stack of papers he no doubt purposely neglected to sign this morning. "What are you doing, Officer Grayz?" He said with monotone, his eyes intense.

"I'm not sure I understand, sir." Ralph admitted, looking rather bewildered.

The Chief placed a hoof on the desk, his fingers tapping impatiently. "Do not play coy with me, Grayz. I will not allow for insubordination in my department."

Ralph's heart started beating faster, his own hooves wringing together in his lap. "Sir, I don't believe I've done anything wrong."

Bogo groaned as he rubbed his forehead, exasperated that he was going to have to spell it out for the new recruit, "Officer Grayz, I respected greatly your work in Bunnyburrow. Your handling of the bunny snatcher case was remarkable and worthy of note. Your exemplary record precedes you and was one of the major reasons I accepted your transfer to Zootopia, to Precinct 1. However, I do not need another Officer Hopps around here, green around the ears and yet full of themselves, thinking they can change the world."

Ralph was more confused than ever, "But sir, isn't Hopps one of your best officers?"

"She is, but because of pure, dumb luck than anything else. She has since proven her mettle, but it does not excuse her methods getting there." Bogo had to stop himself from grinding his own teeth.

"Then I don't understand how her career and actions relate to me." Ralph reasoned.

"Hopps has a knack for doing what is necessary to get the job done, despite the ramifications those actions might cause others and this unit." He jabbed a finger down on the desk, causing it to rattle slightly. "I allow it only because she continually gets the job done and the results are far more positive than negative, but I do not need to track more than one do-gooder cop who thinks they are above the law to see justice done."

A growing lump in the pit of Ralph's stomach was causing him to get nauseous. "Sir, I'm only trying to do my job here. Isn't that what you-"

Bogo snapped at him, cutting him off, standing up as he did so, "Your job, Sergeant, was to finish your in-processing here, not to take someone else's shift for your first night! Your job today, Grayz, was to get some much-needed rest at home and come back bright and early tomorrow! Your job is neither to investigate a crime scene at Mercy Hospital, nor call in requests for evidence relating to your involvement in the Dark Flame Wolf case on Monday!"

"But sir, I was just investigating the weapon used on Hopps and me…" Ralph pleaded.

"On a shift that you weren't ever supposed to be on!" Bogo roared. "The fact I even allowed it was stretching my leniency for your prior record! I was willing to give you a shot at proving yourself and you did not perform! I thought by at least putting you with Officer Hopps and Wilde, you would stay out of trouble!"

"Hopps also got gassed the same as me." Ralph tried to point out.

"Do not change the subject here! You are not to pursue this case any further. I will not be filling out any paperwork for a dead cop because they tried to tackle the Dark Flame Wolf single-handedly! Go home, Grayz. Do I make myself clear?" Bogo boomed, his entire frame leaning over the desk.

Ralph cringed at the onslaught. It was rather frightening to see just how on top Bogo was with the goings-on in his department. Ears down and shoulders slumped, he acquiesced, "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Good." Bogo pointed to the exit, his rage almost instantly disappearing. "You are dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your day, Officer Grayz."

"Thank you, sir." Ralph got up awkwardly. He wasn't sure how he should make his exit. Upon seeing that Bogo had subsequently ignored him and was already situated with his glasses and reading through some papers, he felt it best to just take his leave and vacate the room immediately.

Silently shutting the door behind him, he strode towards the elevators, thinking real hard on what his next steps were. The rest of the station may not be onto his one-mammal crusade in the Dark Flame Wolf case, but it was quite clear that Chief Bogo was. He ran a tight ship if he knew what was going on so quickly.

It was probably best he stay away from the station for now. Perhaps do some off-the-books investigating. Unfortunately, he still needed to swing by his desk to follow up on that lead he knew he had. It wasn't much, but if he could track down where the wolf acquired her armament, maybe he could trace it back to someone who could tell him more about who she is.

Shuffling out of the elevator, he made a beeline for the cubicle farm. Swiftly ducking into his designated desk area, he sat down and logged into his workstation. He took out his cell phone and laid it off to the side, preparing it for what he was going to do. Upon opening his e-mail program, he looked in the options and found the login information for his account. He downloaded the work app onto his phone and inserted the ID and password there. After verifying his credentials, it started populating the e-mails onto his phone.

"Good." Ralph muttered to himself.

He saw that there were no legitimate e-mails waiting for him, but at least he'd be ready if Raina sent anything regarding the evidence request. He was almost counting on her slow nature that she'd process his request before noticing or moving on to the cancellation request that Bogo no doubt put in for it.

Chancing the risk, Ralph opened up the case database and began a new search. Looking up cases involving skunk-related musk, he was a bit disappointed to find the majority of the results to be nothing but Dark Flame Wolf victims. This didn't really help him much since it brought him no closer to where her supplier was. If he could get at whoever that was, he might be able to help put a squeeze on her operations. He highly doubted she'd created these all in-house. That would be very surprising indeed.

Maybe he needed to try a different tact. What if those skunks supplying the musk were forced into it? He looked up missing mammals cases and narrowed it down to mustelids only. One specific case stood out prominently. The report was merely titled, 'Musk Mill,' and was written by a Rhinowitz. Copying and pasting the contents of the document into an email and sending it to himself, he shut off his computer and headed out.

Nodding at Clawhauser on his way out, he exited the station into the bright sunlight. After several days of nothing but gloomy skies and harsh, electrical storms at night, the warm rays were a welcome treat. There was even a nice breeze rustling through his mane. With renewed purpose, he walked over to the Freedom Circle Park and found a shaded bench opposite the ZPD complete with a front row seat to the central water fountains.

Relaxed and comfortable on the bench, Ralph leaned back and tapped through to his e-mail app. Opening the attachment that he had sent himself, he began reading through. There seemed to be a huge, underground smuggling ring that had kidnapped several dozen mammals from across Zootopia and housed them in various warehouses and structures within the city.

His brow furrowed when he discovered that these poor mammals were imprisoned for their musk. To be extracted and sold to the highest bidder. Some of the information was incomplete and it was unknown who the buyers were. The transactions were done on dummy accounts and any tracing only brought the investigators off site to remote locations outside of Zootopia.

Could Dark Flame Wolf be one of the buyers? This thought burst to the forefront of his mind. It seemed quite plausible that she had bought a good haul of skunk musk to use in her criminal activities. However, the date of when this musk mill sting happened was marked over a decade ago. Unless she was extremely frugal in her habits of use, there was no way she could still be using the musk unless she had found another seller. Which also meant that there was still the possibility that this musk ring was still active!

Glancing over at the location of this warehouse, he crinkled his snout. It was located at The Docks, a rather unsavory district just to the northwest of the Rainforest District. He had only heard some rumors about the place, but none of them were very positive. The mill had been burned down in the incident at the time of the report, so there was probably not much to be found there now.

Ralph set the phone onto his leg, observing the small tiger and giraffe kids playing some ball around the water spouts in the small water park in the center. They were doing their best to steal the ball away from the other while avoiding the bursts of water from the ground. It was quite entertaining, almost peaceful sitting here and relishing the day. It seemed tempting to drop the whole thing like Judy said to do and just enjoy his time off.

Without a second thought, he called his wife, Stella. After a few moments, she picked up, "Ralph, what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing, my love." He assuaged her. "Just finishing up some business here at the office. I'll be home a bit later today. How's Rodney doing?"

"He's missing you, of course." There was a tremor in her voice. It was clear she was too. "But he's holding up well. He is just in the other room playing on his PawPad. You know how he is when he gets invested. Sometimes I don't even know he's there."

Ralph chuckled at this. It was true that when Rodney got absorbed into his video games, he barely made a peep. Sometimes they had to peek in on him just to make sure he was alive. "Don't I know it, honey. Give him a kiss and hug for me, will you? And don't worry, I haven't forgotten, I'll pick up some more cans of tomato juice on the way home tonight."

"Just come home safe, that's all I care about." Stella reaffirmed.

"Promise. I love you." He gave a smooch to the phone before clicking off.

Ralph loved his family more than anything. It was what brought him through the roughest times during his stint in Bunnyburrow. It was what made his life worth living after his best friend was murdered in cold blood and nobody lifted a finger to catch the culprit. In many ways, that situation was similar in nature to this Dark Flame Wolf case; too many crime scenes with so little evidence that most people just gave it up as a lost cause.

His best friend was a bunny, just like any other in Bunnyburrow, except that he had grown up with him during primary school. They had clicked almost instantaneously the moment they met. It was such a severe blow to him when he heard the news that his friend was yet another in a long string of murders at the hands of the 'bunny snatcher.' Ralph joined the force in retaliation and within a few scant years single-handedly discovered the perpetrator's identity and secured his arrest.

This was eerily playing out all too similarly. Everyone seemed aware that a problem existed, yet nobody had the evidence or the gall to pursue more. What if the next victim was his wife or son? Would the entire ZPD turn a blind eye yet again just because the Dark Flame Wolf was involved? This thought incensed him, because he could easily see it happening. Too little evidence, not enough leads.

With firm resolve, he got up, stuffed his phone into his pocket and headed off northwards. Glancing at his watch, he decided he could take public transportation, but given how congested the roads looked at this time of day it seemed faster if he hoofed it instead. It would be a rather long walk, but he needed the exercise. Besides, he always wanted to check out the Rainforest District anyway.

* * *

 _The Docks – Old Musk Mill Warehouse – Down Pier 23 across from Prairie Boardwalk  
_ _Wednesday – 3:32 PM – Sunny/Clear Skies_

As sweltering as it was, Ralph appreciated the stroll through the Rainforest District. It was a bit convoluted and the sidewalks weren't always properly marked. It took several backtracks before he finally was on the right path to The Docks. Even his phone app, Haze, had trouble navigating him through the labyrinthine walkways that were literally stacked on top of each other as they climbed higher into the canopy.

It was like crossing a climate threshold. Exiting the jungle and hitting that fresh ocean breeze was refreshing. It was then that the smell of rotten fish and trash hit his nose. Sprawled out ahead of him was a mishmash of shanties and hovels. They were interspersed among the piers that seem to congregate around a central platform that housed a rather large structure with flags and flapping tapestries. Its metal sheet roofing gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

Ralph's heart churned as he began noticing more details about this district. Destitute mothers were doing their best to care for their young cubs while they ran circles around them, breastfeeding a babe in one arm while churning a pot of stew with the other. Each one had on decent-looking clothes at first glance, but upon closer inspection one could see tears and holes in the fabric, as if they had not had a new pair in years.

He was appalled at the living conditions of those on The Docks. Sure, it was a subsection of the Canal District, which was a follow-on from the Rainforest District, so some difference in living circumstances was expected here. However, what he saw far and away blew apart his expectations for the neighborhood. That such a slum on the water could exist in what was supposedly the greatest city in the world was simply incomprehensible, yet here it was in stark reality.

As if on cue, Ralph heard some gunshots off in the distance about four piers down followed by a splash of water. He wanted to rise to the call of duty and investigate the sound, but he also knew he had no backup and would be putting his own life at risk. Something he wasn't going to do since he promised his wife he'd return home safely. Besides, he wasn't even supposed to be here and had no legitimate reason to be visiting this place.

"What have I gotten myself into?" He whispered to himself in awestruck disbelief.

Thankful that he had managed to secure a far better living situation in Zootopia for his family than this cesspool, he sidestepped the piles of trash and refuse and utilized his Haze to navigate to Pier 23, which was thankfully in the opposite direction of the gunfire. Holding back bile, he witnessed a coypu waddle out of her lean-to and dump a bucket of refuse into the water, lacking any other recourse in eliminating the waste. She glanced up at him, gave a disdainful snort and disappeared inside.

The cries of terrified children and youthful adults caused his ears to shoot up with alarm. He had hardly noticed with his head buried into his Haze app that he had shifted to a new location on The Docks. This was a far cry from the shanty town literally several hundred paces behind him. Off to his right was quite literally a boardwalk, complete with food stands, mini-games with plush toys as prizes and even a Ferris Wheel among other rides; a complete amusement park out on the pier overlooking the bay.

Looking back down at his phone, his destination was a bit further along, just one more pier down. Following the route to eye level, he spotted several condemned warehouses across the water, sitting opposite the boardwalk. Turning his attention from the run-down warehouses to the amusement park and then back behind him to the heap of misshapen houses and slums, it was quite startling to see just how wide the disparity was between the three sections of the same district.

Walking along the edge of the pier, he counted down the structures, his eyes on the far one towards the end that looked burned and demolished. He was almost there when a clicking whistle distracted him from his goal. He pivoted to see two orcas regarding him from the water. The mere sight of them gave him the willies. Although knowing they were not fish that one could eat, he couldn't shake the thought from his mind as he saw intelligence behind those small eyes staring back at him.

"Oh hey…!" The one on the left catcalled, his voice sultry and smooth. "We don't see many of your kind around these parts."

This was not exactly what he had expected from something so imposing. Stuffing the phone into his pants, he faced them directly. "What kind?" He seemed mildly irked at the generalized statement.

"The fun kind!" The one on the right clapped, causing some ripples. Between the two of them, Ralph could hardly tell them apart, their markings were so similar.

"I don't follow." He surely didn't. This was his first encounter with anything that lived strictly in the water and the conversation was already unnerving him.

The left one rolled onto its back, exposing its belly to the wildebeest, arousal clearly evident. Ralph sputtered, turning away quickly for propriety's sake as the orca clucked with glee. "No need to be shy. Hitch a ride on an orca, because we intend to pork ya!"

The right one followed suit and exposed himself as well to the now embarrassed gnu, its lower half undulating rhythmically, causing bigger ripples. "Loving on the ocean is the best kind of motion. Don't be shy, we don't bite…much." They both clicked happily at this.

"I'll have you know, I am male." He proclaimed, trying in vain to find some way to get these two obnoxious killer whales off his back and to reclaim any shred of dignity left. Never in his life had he been propositioned like this.

Both orcas stopped their movements a bit, taking in this revelation. The left one gurgled, "It's okay, big boy. We got some fun for you too!" His movements renewed in the water.

"I am happily married!" He stated angrily. Surely, they would respect the sanctity of marriage.

Another awkward silence as the two thought this over. The right one rolled back onto its stomach before swimming closely, blowing bubbles as it did so. "No need to explain yourself, we see this all the time. You're among friends here. We know the allure of exotic flesh takes away even the most devout. For you, we could even make a discount!"

These were prostitutes! Ralph was stunned. This was the last thing he had expected to encounter here in Zootopia and yet here they were, in broad daylight, conducting business in a part of town that most people probably ignored or purposefully forgot. Who knew what else was going on in Zootopia in the lesser patrolled areas of the city?

With a grim look, he whipped out his badge and flashed it. "I'm also a cop."

That did it.

"Oh shit!" The left one squealed as both flapped the surface with their tails and took off like a shot into the deep. Within moments, all that was left of them were the small swells left in their wake.

Shaking his head in disgust, Ralph continued on down the pier, trying his best to block out that embarrassing ordeal. Was it that hard to tell wildebeests apart by sex? He was so lost in those thoughts that he passed his point of interest and had reached the end of the walkway.

Studying the warehouse, it had clearly burned down in a cataclysmic fire some time ago. The building next to it suffered some damage, but was spared from the worst of it. It seemed whoever responded to this fire managed to contain it to a single structure. There was no roof, and only a third of the outer wall was still left standing in varying degrees of decay. Ash and soot were still prevalent everywhere, but the majority of the mess had been blown away by years of wind.

Ralph's countenance fell. Surveying the site, this lead looked to be a wash too. Resigned to at least make the effort, he stepped over some debris and started sifting through the rubble. There wasn't much left to discover, the heat from the blaze must have been so intense that it had incinerated most things within.

He wandered the layout of the warehouse, its floor plan laid bare to the elements. With no ceilings and over half the walls gone or only reaching waist height, it was quite easy to navigate around. There was a rather large open space with several cages scattered about. Some were the size of small mammals while others were large enough to house something like him. Most seemed broken and unusable, which was a relief. He couldn't fathom the idea that one would want to cage up their fellow mammal like this.

A fluttering piece of white paper caught his eye. It was a ledger half hanging off a recognizable table. Picking it up, he shuffled through the cracked and weathered pages, stained from years of exposure. Although the text was barely legible, he could still make out some parts of the document.

It seemed to be an inventory list of mammals that they had captured and musked here. He could see they had it organized by type. Curious, he carefully flipped the pages and landed on skunks. There were three who had been captured and imprisoned here: Alverin, Nates, and Stinkman. Whipping out his phone, he tapped the screen and made a note of their names, intent to research their whereabouts now. Hopefully they were still alive and maybe he could talk to them regarding this incident and any potential connections to the Dark Flame Wolf.

A notification on his phone garnered his focus. He tapped it and opened up his inbox. Inside was an e-mail from Raina! His heart skipped a beat as he read that the evidence release still needed his signature. He quickly downloaded the document, e-signed it and attached it back onto the e-mail to be sent back. Raina probably hadn't even gotten to the cancellation order from Chief Bogo. There might be a small window of time he could exploit here.

Satisfied with that, he tucked away his cell and took the ledger. Seeing as this was the only piece of evidence worth collecting from the site, he carefully tucked it under his arm and headed out to the main walkway. He started to head back when a soft clicking could be heard from the water's edge. Furtively, he took a few steps and looked over the pier. Below in the water was the head of an orca peeking out from the clouded surface.

"What did you want?" Ralph sighed.

The whale merely stared past him, "Why were you interested in that place?"

This question was certainly unexpected. Ralph followed his gaze back to the burned down-structure before turning and answering, "I'm investigating what basically amounts to a cold case."

"I was there, you know." The orca squeaked.

"Here? When it burned down?" He pointed back towards it.

A small bob in the water indicated confirmation, "I was but a calf with my mother at the time. We saw the whole thing. Someone came to save all the children who had been kidnapped and taken here."

"Did they burn down the place?" He probed, now interested in what this whale had to say.

"I don't know for sure." Seeing the look on the gnu's face, he followed up hastily, "But I did see a wolf among the children, leading them out of there."

This riveted Ralph's attention. "A wolf, you say?"

Another bob, "Yes, a wolf. She was clothed in crimson and was making sure all of the cubs and calves were led to safety."

A wolf in red…that did sound a lot like their Dark Flame Wolf. What was puzzling was her interest in these children. This was not the modus operandi he had seen in all the reports they had on her in the police database. This new wrinkle seemed to complicate further this overall picture he had of her in his mind.

"Was there anything else you could tell me about her?" He grilled.

A small shake of the head was all he got. "I'm afraid not. My mother suggested we head on. It was best we not tarry around since it seemed quite dangerous at the time."

"Understandable." Ralph was mildly disappointed. Still, he did know a bit more than he had before investigating this rubble heap.

The orca rose a bit higher from the water, his former look returning to his eyes. "You sure you don't want some of this? I promise I'll go gentle. I know that we could hurt many of our clients very easily, but I have learned some self-control that it can be very pleasing to you too."

Not this again. He shook his head. "No, thank you." He waved a hoof at the whale. "Why are you even doing this? Surely you are better than this. Didn't your mom leave you something to work for?"

The orca gave what seemed to be a shrug of its fins. "She died shortly after the burning of this place. I've been living on The Docks most of my life since then. This is all I know how to do now. It is what I am best at, pleasing clients and appeasing foreign appetites."

This story crushed Ralph's pity. He had sorely misjudged this whale at first glance. Although the method through which he earned his living was abhorrent, it seemed to be more a byproduct of the circumstances that his life thrust him in than anything else. It seemed that, in a short span of a few days since arriving in Zootopia, Ralph had seen more despair and anguish among its citizenry than he had ever expected.

"What's your name?" He asked, sincerely wanting to know.

The orca replied, a bit bashful that someone actually wanted to know what his name was, "I'm called Sebastian."

"I'm Ralph." He leaned over, putting his hooves on his knees. "What happened to you?"

"What happens to every calf that is forgotten by those who are supposed to watch out for them. We get lost." Realizing that Ralph would not accept his open invitation, Sebastian melded with the water and was gone.

Pondering the conversation heavily, Ralph had a heavy walk back across The Docks. His mind swirled with a bunch of thoughts about the state of things in Zootopia. It wasn't until he was midway through the Rainforest District that he realized he had three names he needed to look up to see if they still were alive and resided within the city limits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. This was the primary chapter where Ralph had interaction with a lot of canon characters from the movie and it was delightful to see him interact with each of them in his dogged pursuit of the Dark Flame Wolf. Despite the first scene being a complete wash for him with minimal story progression, it was important to see how the rest of the ZPD and its employees viewed the entire situation and Ralph's investment in it. It was also good to get an idea of what happened to Christopher after his fight with Murana, setting him up for a later appearance. The middle scene was very important because it is the turning point for the entire investigation. Ralph tries to research an avenue of breadcrumbs that no one before him has tried doing. This leads him to The Docks, which was a fantastic new location that I was more than happy to put my spin on and even depict it in a way not many were expecting. A great location that I'm setting up now for future use when readers least expect it. Ralph may have struck out all morning, but it seems his luck might just be turning around in figuring out how to capture Dark Flame Wolf!


	10. Wednesday - Trailing the Flames - The Third Evening

_Rainforest District – Tinderspire Apartments – Fourth Tier Canopy, Forest Block 2A  
_ _Wednesday – 5:47 PM – Scattered Clouds Outside – Rainforest: Wet/Humid_

Ralph was miserable. He learned very quickly that he should have done his research while still in the open breeze of The Docks. Instead, he had hightailed it back into the Rainforest District before sitting down at a bench to do some browsing for the three names on the ledger: Alverin, Nates and Stinkman. It was at a special time of day in the district where they unleashed the overhead sprinklers to simulate the rain across the entire area and he was soaked.

Completely unprepared, he dashed underneath a nearby awning. Shaking his entire body of every droplet he could fling off, he slouched up against the front façade. It appeared to be a restaurant with a few patrons waiting outside as the diners inside were slowly filtering out after finishing their meals. Everyone seemed to have the same idea and was huddled underneath the overhang, watching the evening 'storm' pass over.

Shaking the phone out of his pocket, he used his inner shirt to wipe off the screen. Tapping in the names one after another into the yellow pages, he discovered that only two lived within the city limits of Zootopia. According to the police database, Alverin had moved to a neighboring province nearly a decade ago, shortly after that musk mill incident occurred. Nates was on the far side in Sahara Square. That just left Steven Stinkman to visit first, who was in an apartment complex here in the Rainforest District.

The multitude of walkways, roads and pathways leading up and down the canopy tiers was confusing. Even Haze had a rough time navigating Ralph to the necessary waypoints to find the Tinderspire apartment building. He actually had to double back at one point, go down one tier before coming up another before he was able to access a specific section of the fourth tier of walkways where his destination lay. He was dumbstruck at the sheer lunacy of this district's planning.

It seemed one of the tram rails went directly past the backside of the Tinderspire, which was built into the trunk of a huge Kapok tree. Various windows illuminated the darkness within the foliage covering the upper portions of the trunk. The tram must provide quick public transportation to other parts of the district to the residents here.

The embedded wooden door swung inward with a rattle as Ralph entered a very cramped, yet cozy foyer. It was obviously circular in nature, centered around a faux fire pit with beige, fluffy-cushioned couches. The front desk was carved into a rather gnarled knot that extended out towards the pit. The place was beautifully lit by strung-up lanterns with electrical bulbs in place of candle wicks, the cords wrapping around the room like a holiday display.

A spotted, brown paca suddenly leaped onto the receptionist desk, jingling the small bell that was there. Its square head ending in a rather flat nose, wiggled as it caught scent of Ralph. It was wearing a dapper looking suit and bowtie around its rotund form, a nametag pinned at an impeccably pristine location above his chest pocket with the label, 'Hernandez.'

"I hate to be rude, good sir." Hernandez began, adjusting himself and brushing down any lint from his pressed outfit. "The Tinderspire is primarily meant for smaller tenants who would do well in such confined apartments. One of your…stature would find themselves most uncomfortable here in this establishment."

Realizing that the attendant was just making note of his overall size, Ralph waved a hoof at him casually, "Oh, no. I'm not here to secure a place to stay. I'm actually here on official police business." He flashed his badge and genially leaned on the counter, nearly face to face with the paca. "Would a Steven Stinkman still be making residence here?"

"Ah-ha! I knew it!" Hernandez said with surprising gusto. "What did he do? Did he flash bomb an entire department store with his stench? Did he sneak into some private property for a juicy story scoop? I know how those shifty reporter types are. I swear he sneaks into other tenants rooms and lays down his putrid odor. Can't you smell it now? Please tell me you got some dirt on him! He seems too squeaky clean to me!"

"Um…no, I'm not here to arrest him. I'm just here to question him on a case I've been working on." Ralph sputtered, genuinely shocked at the vitriol this employee had for Steven.

The paca's expression drooped. "Oh…well then, you can find him on the second floor, block 2A. He's the room at the end of the hall on the left." He hopped down off the desk and slouched into a reclining roller chair. Looking up at Ralph wistfully, he asked, "If you do find anything on Stinkman, will you be sure to let me know?"

"I'll be sure not to do that." Ralph grumped.

He didn't really like the attitude of this critter. It was very unprofessional and rude. He made a mental note to see who the general manager was of this apartment complex and report Hernandez. Shaking his head, he took his leave of the paca and headed towards the back of the main room where the spiral staircase led up and down the trunk of the tree.

Hernandez was not kidding. The staircase was just wide enough for Ralph to fit through. It was probably perfect for two smaller mammals to stand abreast on a single step, but a wildebeest his size took up the entire width of the staircase. Ducking low, he climbed up the rooted steps and thankfully came out one floor above.

Despite it being inside the trunk of a tree, the kopak variety was very round and had a lot more space than one would expect looking at it from the outside. After exiting the stairs, he came across a singular long hallway stretching out to the other side of the tree, multiple doorways branching off from the lone corridor. Taking the receptionist's instruction, he ambled down the tight hall and turned towards the last room on the left, rapping on it gently.

While he waited for a response, Ralph scoped out the environs and noted that it was much more dimly lit than the entryway. In fact, it didn't have any artificial lighting, instead relying on bioluminescent moss that bathed the corridor in a pale, green glow. The framed window at the end, adjacent to Stinkman's apartment, also provided some exterior light. A faint rumble rattled the entire structure with the passing of a tram car, just yards outside the window. It was close enough to see detail on the passengers inside the cabin.

After a few minutes, he knocked on the door again. This produced a response. He could hear a loud clang, followed by some choice words before several thumps of unknown origin. Flicking his ears this way and that, he could discern the occupant within slowly making his way towards the door. It swung open wide, revealing a very disheveled and tired looking skunk. He had on a pair of khaki pants and a wife beater top of a garish baby blue.

"Good…afternoon, Mr. Steven Stinkman, I presume?" Ralph had to catch himself lest he swoon right at the doorway as it opened. The smell was intense, yet familiar. He knew he shouldn't generalize all skunk musk, but this brought back some bad memories.

"Yeah?" Steven said groggily, rubbing his eyes from sleep. It seemed clear he had holed himself away most of the day. He looked unkept and in desperate need of a shower.

Flashing his badge, "I am Officer Grayz. I'm here to discuss with you an incident that happened to you about ten years ago. Do you have time for me to come in and answer a few questions?"

Mind still foggy from waking up so suddenly to Ralph, Steven just bobbed his head and shuffled out of the way, opening the door wider as he did so. "Sure…"

"Thank you." Ralph nodded before ducking his head down to enter the small doorway.

He surveyed the room and found it very quaint. The outer wall curved around, visibly showing this apartment as being on the edge of the tree trunk. There was a small living area immediately inside with a small stump table with a few chairs surrounding it, all facing a small tube television complete with bunny ear antennas. A few steps up on one side lead to a higher deck in the main room where a lounging nook looked out through a sash window onto the Rainforest District below.

Across from the nook was a small kitchenette that barely had room for even a microwave. The entire place looked like mess as if Steven had barely cleaned the place up after several dozen meals. Beyond that lay a small hallway that supposedly led to perhaps the bedroom or bathroom, maybe both. Of interesting note were a part of open-pawed boots next to a couch by the steps, clearly meant for a much larger mammal than the skunk before him.

"You got a roommate?" Ralph asked curiously. This definitely looked like a one tenant apartment suite. It would be a hard sell to fit two in here.

After flopping down on the couch facing the doorway, arms listlessly falling to the cushions beside him, he gazed up at the large wildebeest. "Huh?" He noticed the gnu's attention to the boots. "Oh, no…those were my mother's. I keep them for scent-imental value." He brought one up to his nose and gave a big whiff, faintly smiling at the memory before setting it back down.

Ralph's brow rose with surprise at the curious sniffing. His mom must have been…rather big. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I'm sorry for your loss…"

Steven looked at him curiously, "No, she's not dead. She's just not responding to me." He sniffled. "It's all my fault too. If I hadn't threatened her with leaving, maybe she'd be returning my phone calls and we could be having coffee again like we used to. I miss it already."

Ralph did his best to situate himself on one of the small chairs, awkwardly splaying his legs this way and that to avoid knocking over the stump table. "I'm sorry to hear that. Now, about this event ten years ago. Would you please tell me about the time you were in the musk mill? I will understand if it is too painful for you to recollect, but anything you can tell me would be of great help."

Steven continued on, as if he hadn't heard him all too well. "She's been with me these past ten years and it's been great! Then he came along and ruined everything, trying to woo mom off her paws and into his bed, kicking me out and leaving me to live here alone. It was all because he couldn't handle a little skunk being around him." He wiped his nose with the fur on his arm, not really caring what came off.

"Alright…" Ralph hesitated. He wasn't really sure where to go from here to get the conversation back on track. "So this mother of yours, when did you first meet her?" Since she had been with him just as long as the duration of his release from the musk mill, maybe he could find out more from this angle.

"Meet her?" He paused, making sure he heard Ralph correctly. "She met me. She took me in and raised me as her own. She's been my Mom ever since."

That would explain the boots. Ralph pressed, "So your Mom is not a skunk then?"

"No. Why?" Steven asked, getting suddenly wary. "Does my having a wolf mom upset you? I know how weird it is to have multi-species households in Zootopia. Some people really frown on that sort of thing. Are you one of those types?"

"What? No!" Ralph defended. "I'm just surprised."

"Good." Steven sighed, leaning back into the couch relieved.

He was surprised in more than one way. Skunks had a reputation for being rather unwanted by many in Zootopia just due to the natural musk odor they give off, even when not actively spraying. To have a wolf, with a highly sensitive nose, taking in an orphaned skunk and raising him as her own was highly unusual. What made it more interesting for Ralph was that this adoptive mother was a wolf. Just the sort of mammal he was tracking.

Now noticing the faded pine tree air freshener tied to the skunk's neck, he pointed at it. "That is a very unique necklace you have there. Where did you get it?" There was something oddly familiar about it, but Ralph couldn't exactly place it.

Steven clutched the tree, giving it a sniff despite it having lost its scent long ago. "My mother gave it to me as an anniversary gift."

"You two seem very close by the way you talk about her." Grayz gave a genuine smile to ease the skunk's inhibitions.

Steven seemed to relax at the thought of her, "Yeah, she is pretty great. I loved this gift so much that I had some molded earrings made for her that look just like it."

That was interesting. "So Steven, do you remember a lot about this musk mill you were placed in?" Ralph had a potential line of questioning that might answer a few things.

"What is there to know? It was cold, dark, cramped and wet. They pulled me out once a week to string me up to some extraction machine, plugged up my butt and drained me. It was a truly awful experience. I'm glad those punks got what was coming to them!" He huffed, crossing his arms.

"You saw what happened to those who imprisoned you and the others?" Ralph leaned forward.

"Of course we did. The whole place went up in a huge blaze. It was hard to miss the massive explosion and the burned bodies." Steven idly scratched an itch on his ear.

"Who rescued you? Was it the ZPD?" Ralph knew the answer, but he wanted to see what Steven would say.

The skunk scoffed, having some contempt apparently for the ZPD. "Hardly. It was a wolf in red clothing that let us all out of our cages and burned the place to the ground."

That correlated with the orca's story perfectly. Eager now, Ralph grilled, "So this wolf that helped you escape, this is the same one as your mother, correct?"

This caused Steven's eyes to bulge, his body shifting uncomfortably. "N-no…two different wolves."

"That's amazingly convenient." Ralph mused aloud.

"Amazing…yeah." The skunk seemed far more attentive now. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"I'm Officer Grayz. I'm with the ZPD." He responded promptly.

Steven visibly winced at the answer. "Look, I don't know what you are gunning for with these questions, but it was an incident in the past I'd rather not drudge up again."

Disappointed, Ralph conceded defeat. "Fair enough. Would you mind giving me the phone number or address of your mother so I can follow up with her later?"

It appeared that the skunk was about to deny this request when a knock on the door alerted them both. Steven excused himself to get up and answer the door. The moment he opened it, a blur of black and white surged through the doorway, nearly knocking him off his feet. Ralph's hoof unconsciously went to the gun that wasn't there by his belt strap. He only relaxed and sat back down when he deduced it was just another skunk, wrapping herself around Steven, peppering him with kisses.

"I'm so glad I finally found you!" The female gasped in-between pecks. "I figured you had just miswrote your address and phone number after our date yesterday! Good thing for the internet! Did you know you are quite easy to find, Steven?"

"Courtney?!" He stammered, taken aback by the sudden appearance of her. "What are you doing here?" He struggled to disentangle himself from her clutches.

Wrapping arms around his neck, bringing him in for another kiss. "Why wouldn't I be here?" She giggled. "You were quite the charmer and seemed so into me yesterday. Mind if I let you in on a secret too?" She looked around, clearly not noticing the large wildebeest sitting right there before whispering in his ear, "I was very much into you as well."

"Ahem, am I disturbing something?" Ralph grunted. This was going seriously off the rails.

This sudden disturbance garnered a shriek out of Courtney as she skipped back, huddling herself embarrassed in the corner by the entrance, giving Steven a chance to gasp some air. "Eeek! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there, sir! That was very rude of me!" She apologized, hiding her face in her luxurious tail.

Ralph was not entirely impressed with either skunk before him and it did little to improve his outlook on them as a species either. She sported a black lace stocking shorts that seemed way too small and revealing. Her upper half was a jaggedly cut pink tank-top that was way too far up past the navel. It was obvious what her intent was for coming here just by a single glance.

"It's quite alright." Ralph raised a hoof to calm the frightened skunk. "I'm just here on official ZPD business. I was just talking to Mr. Stinkman here about his mother."

"Yeah," Steven began to agree, his breathing starting to calm down, "but we're done now and Officer Grayz will now be going." He finished with an air of finality.

"His mom?" Courtney perked up, a beaming smile blossoming on her face. "Oh, I love her! She is such a sweet wolf!"

"Courtney!" Steven hissed, trying to give her a look to shut her up.

"A wolf, you say?" Ralph grinned, looking from Steven to Courtney. "Seems like an odd thing here in Zootopia. A wolf adopting a skunk for a son."

Without even thinking, Courtney rambled on, "Absolutely! That's what I thought too!" She bounced, causing her breasts to jiggle, forcing a blush on Steven. "She's the nicest wolfess I've ever met though! She's the one who hooked us up together!" She made a gesture to indicate her and Steven. "She completely supports us 100%! She clearly has refined taste."

Quickly flipping out his phone to write a note, he probed, "Steven here didn't exactly mention her name. Would you?"

Steven glared at Ralph, clearly recognizing what he was doing. "Her name? It's Mrs. Wolford, she works at the bank…mmmph!"

Steven moved in to fold himself around Courtney, pressing into a deep, tongued kiss. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough to silence her before she blurted out his Mom's name. She practically melted into the kiss, nearly threatening to bring them both to the ground as she went limp, forcing Steven to flex hard to keep them both upright.

"Wolford…" Ralph repeated slowly, typing in the name. "Thank you, Courtney." He smiled, standing up and preparing to leave. "You both have been most helpful. Thank you for your time."

Unlocking his lips from Courtney's, Steven spat, "You're welcome. Please go, I'm busy with my girlfriend." He didn't know why he said it, but it was the first thing that came to his mind to further speed along Grayz's departure.

"Your girlfriend?!" Courtney practically squealed, giddy at the notion. She basically tackled him to the floor in a barrage of tongue lashings, smothering him as he squirmed and writhed on the floor. "I didn't know you felt that way about us so soon, but I can get behind this!"

Realizing the error of his judgment, he whispered hoarsely between kisses, "Help!"

"You know what? I'm just…going to leave you two alone." Ralph bowed his head, hiding his grin. He slowly shut the door, secretly relishing the doomed wide-eyed look on Steven's face as he reached out to the wildebeest before the click of the door as it closed on him.

With renewed determination, Ralph was more certain than ever he was on the right trail now. It seemed no coincidence that the mother of this skunk was a wolf just like the one who helped free the victims from that musk mill on The Docks. What was more peculiar was the name drop Courtney revealed.

Wolford was not an unknown name to Ralph. In fact, it was the name of the very work colleague he had taken a shift for that fateful Monday night. However, there were simply too many Wolfords in Zootopia to just make a snap conclusion like that. Still, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he had actually met this wolf before. He couldn't quite place it, but that pine tree necklace of Steven's was so familiar and the fact he had a wolf mom was setting off alarm bells in Ralph's head.

Ralph was so lost in thought that he was startled coming down the stairs when Hernandez ambushed him from the desk. "So did you find any dirt on the little stinker? Is he peddling prostitutes in his room like that skunk that just went up to see him?"

The wildebeest's mane bristled at the paca's attitude. "No. He was the very definition of a model, upright citizen." He lied, just to not have to handle this conversation right now.

"That's a shame." Hernandez said dejectedly. With a thought, he zipped out a business card and had perched it between two claws, outstretched for Ralph to grab it. "Well, if you do find anything, here's my contact information. Don't hesitate to let me know!"

"I won't." Ralph stomped out the door, leaving the Tinderspire with a bewildered receptionist looking out after him.

Gratefully getting into an open tram car, he willed himself to relax as he leaned against the siding. Enjoying the aerial view, he opened up his internet app phone and began looking up the name, Wolford. Knowing that the suspect in question was female, he could rule out his co-worker and over a few dozen more Wolfords within the city. Who was left didn't leave him with any good feelings. There were half a dozen female Wolfords in the city, but one stood out to him for reasons he wished weren't true.

* * *

_Savannah Central – The Shoppes – Section D, Sandwich Shop 'Nocturnal Bites  
_ _Wednesday – 8:59 PM – Dark Overcast Skies / Constant Rain with Electrical Currents_

"That's quite a serious accusation." Judy commented, leaning forward onto her paws, elbows on the table.

"I know! That's why I am so uneasy about this case now." Ralph exhaled, slouching into his chair, looking down at the bunny from across the table. His sandwich was half-eaten, yet he didn't feel hungry anymore.

After his visit to the Lemming Bros. Bank earlier that evening, he was more certain than ever who the Dark Flame Wolf was. However, there were a few pieces missing that was preventing the entire picture from being whole.

He didn't really have many colleagues to turn to regarding this particular case. Remembering what Chief Bogo said about Officer Hopps and how they seemed to have made some sort of connection earlier that morning, she was as good a choice as any to hear his crazy theory out. Ralph had called her up around 2000 sharp just after he had been summarily kicked out of the bank by a very irritable otter.

Earlier that evening, he had looked up the remaining Wolfords in Zootopia that were female and one resided as the CEO of Lemming Brothers Bank. Again, being closer than any of the other Wolfords to his present location and also being the one Courtney singled out, he went there first.

It was already on the verge of closing, but he insisted to speak with Mrs. Wolford. The secretary, which was strangely enough an otter, was very irate. It wasn't that he was particularly rude, especially not to a police officer or even a potential customer of the bank, it was more of the fact that something else seemed to be occupying his attention and focus. Having a cop come in and investigate his boss was probably not high on the otter's list of things to be dealing with that day.

"As you can see, she is not in. She hasn't been in this entire day." The otter fussed, whose name turned out to be Ronald. He was busy filing last minute papers on her desk before locking the place up for the night.

"Can you leave a message for me or at least tell me when she usually gets in during the mornings?" Ralph pressured gently.

"Who knows?" Ron threw his hands up, accidently knocking his big spectacles off kilter from his small snout. Adjusting them quickly, he twitched his nose. "I've only been working here for not even three days. She has a very erratic schedule and I couldn't possibly tell you when she'll show up to work next. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to close this place up and all customers and visitors must leave now. You have a good evening, officer."

The otter did his best to use polite words and phrases, but it was clear the wildebeest was no longer welcome in the upper offices of Mrs. Wolford. Backing up as the diminutive otter closed and locked the doors and shut off the lights, Ralph rode down the elevator with Ron. Each standing next to each other in silence, they waited for the cabin to hit ground floor.

As it opened, the otter's pocket rang as he whipped out a phone and began talking into it, waving off Ralph as he walked away, absorbed in his conversation. "No, I have no idea where she is! She didn't show up at all today…"

As the tiny voice trailed off down the street, Ralph plucked out his own phone and called Judy. They chose to meet at Nocturnal Bites, an evening diner that served fungi-based sandwiches with mushrooms grown fresh from the Nocturnal District, or so it claimed. It was a very unassuming joint, part of a bigger, outlet shopping center outside the main Preyda corporate building. It wasn't long before Hopps showed up and they went in to discuss what Ralph had been doing the entire day.

Clasping her paws together, Judy hovered over the table. "So let's go over what you do know." She opened up the ledger and flipped to the pages with the names of the skunks. "There was a musk mill incident which the Dark Flame Wolf was involved in. All perpetrators were killed in the fire and the children and innocents set free by this wolf. A story confirmed by an eye witness of one orca, Sebastian, whom you met at the scene of the crime."

"That's correct." Ralph confirmed, happy that someone was taking the time to hear him out.

"Through further investigation," She continued, "You are claiming that this Steven Stinkman was one of the skunks released from the mill, as evidenced by this ledger. You are now also claiming that this same skunk was adopted by and has been in the care of the Dark Flame Wolf."

"Also correct." Ralph affirmed.

"Finally, you are stating that this same wolf is Mrs. Murana Wolford who is CEO at Lemming Bros. Bank and the wife to fellow police officer, Anthony Wolford." She finished.

"I know it sounds crazy." He hunched over, head in his hooves. "But I now strictly recall seeing her at an orphanage on Monday and she was wearing these pine tree earrings. The same ones described by Steven as having given her as a gift based on his necklace. It's just too convenient!"

Judy whistled, "Yeah, that is a bit of a stretch. There are several key pieces of evidence missing though. We still don't have any paw prints or anything to directly link Mrs. Wolford to any of these crimes."

Ralph dropped a hoof to look at Hopps, "I know, which is why I had put in a request for evidence collection this morning. I was hoping to see if I could find something that could tie this all together, but the Chief put a nix on that!"

Judy tapped a finger to her chin, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Knowing Raina, she usually finishes jobs in the order she receives them. If anything, she may still be processing your request and has yet to get to Bogo's."

"Still, at the end of the day, I ultimately have nothing and I don't want to just go ahead and accuse someone's wife of being a mass murderer, especially if that person happens to be a fellow cop." He pushed away his plate, no longer feeling hungry now that the pit in the bottom of his stomach had grown.

Ears drooping, she had to agree. "I know what you mean. My first case was a tough one too. I didn't have all the pieces myself to solve it. It wasn't until some outside the box thinking with a dash of luck helped me crack it."

Ralph chuckled, "I've heard all about it. The Night Howler case. Pretty legendary, if you ask me."

Judy blushed, "Well, I'm sure it didn't help that I had to break some rules to get the job done, but Bogo does respect the talent I have in serving justice and making this city a better place."

"He does have some reservations about you." He warned, both laughing at this. "Still though," Ralph turned serious again, "I'm unclear as to the connections between the various victims of the Dark Flame Wolf. Their bios and backgrounds do not coincide and there seems to be nothing really in common with most of them. Some are simple family mammals while others are hardened criminals. Some are male while others female. Some are poor, some are rich. There is no rhyme or reason to it."

"And then she releases a bunch of kids from a musk mill and adopts one." Judy said, trying to complete his thought, her cheek resting on her fist.

"Exactly! What is up with that?" He threw his hooves up in defeat.

Judy smirked this time, finally being able to reveal something most people didn't know. "I have a theory myself about that." Ralph looked like he was all ears. "I can't prove it for all the burned victims, but I can figure out a common link between a majority of them. Some had a history of wife battering or child abuse. Some were implicated in rape or molestation cases. All were involved in some way with the abuse or death of females and children."

"All of them?" Ralph queried incredulously.

"Most, but I'd wager that it extends to all of them." She clicked her tongue. "You see, when I did my own investigation on the Dark Flame Wolf, I was always confused why she went after some, but completely ignored others to include serial killers and horrendous sadists. It's like she arbitrarily chose whom she killed, but that didn't make any sense. That's when I delved deeper into the victims themselves and discovered their rap sheets and all had one thing in common: female and child abuse. This seems to attract her attention."

"Why's that?" He pointed out.

Judy shrugged. "I don't know. As I said, it's just a theory, but it is the one that makes the most sense."

He sat back in the chair, marveling at this new discovery. Things were starting to click into place for him in his head. "But what about those who had a clean record with nothing negative to their name? Why did she kill those victims?"

Tilting forward more, she tapped a finger to the table for emphasis, "For the same reason. I'm willing to bet that somehow it was discovered even those victims were guilty to those same sorts of crimes and she found out about it."

"It does seem a fitting punishment for such an abhorrent act." Ralph mused.

"True, but killing is still a crime." Judy reminded.

"Of course. Why the burning though?" He wondered.

She paused a bit, picking at her own sandwich, "No idea. Maybe it is her calling card. I've no idea on that point."

Just then, Ralph's phone blared out in his pocket, causing them both to jump. He excused himself briefly and checked his e-mail. His eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Raina has finished the processing. The evidence is ready for pickup and inspection!" His expression immediately wilted. "But Chief Bogo doesn't want to see me at the station again until tomorrow…"

"Nor me." Hopps added. She knew that helping Ralph could possibly land her in hot water same as him, however she figured she could weather it a lot better even if she took all the blame. Besides, she too was once invested in this case the same as Ralph and seeing as he had quite a good lead on it than she had in years, she was willing to chance it. "Tell you what, let's go together and if we get caught, let me do the talking."

"Are you serious?" His eye bulged.

"Of course. We're friends now, aren't we? Let's finish off these sandwiches and head on over to the station before Raina leaves so we can get what you were looking for!" She chippered, taking a huge bite of her sandwich.

With appetite coming back slowly, he finished his own before dumping the trash into the nearby receptacle and heading outside with Judy. The weather had taken a turn for the worse since he had left the bank, with dark clouds covering the sky and streaks of lightning dancing through the heavens.

Walking across Freedom Circle towards the spires of the ZPD, there was a complete lack of vehicles in the side parking lot. Instead of going in the front entrance, they took one of the various side ones and headed down a stairwell to the basement where Raina worked.

They had just opened the swinging doors into the evidence storage and laboratory room where they beheld a young, female sloth slowly putting on her raincoat, her purse already packed and seated on the tall stool beside her. Looking up, her face slowly broke out into a grin, "Good…evening…Officer…Grayz…and…Officer…Hopps. How…are…you…tonight?"

She had barely finished her question when Hopps interjected, "Hey, Raina! We are in a real hurry tonight. Can you tell us where Officer Grayz's request package is?"

After finishing her previous statement, it took Raina several moments to process and respond to Judy's question, causing the rabbit to thump a foot. To this day, Judy had struggles in dealing with sloths. "It…is…in…those…plastic…baggies…over…there." She began to extend her long arm towards a bench beyond her main table she sat at.

Without a moment's hesitation, Judy bounded over there and picked up several packages and handed them in turn to Ralph. "Do any of these look familiar?"

The first package held the shattered remnants of the stink bomb that took out both him and Judy Monday night. Setting it aside quickly with a shiver, he looked at the next baggy. He set all the rest down as he stared at the contents of this one. Inside the translucent plastic was a single earring with specks of blood and some loose follicles of hair alongside it. That wasn't the striking thing about it though. What caught his attention was its shape.

"This is the design!" Ralph snapped his hoof fingers.

Judy looked up from her bags of evidence, "What now?"

"This." He held up the green, pine tree earring. "As I said, Stinkman had a pair of earrings fashioned for his mother that was exactly like his necklace. His necklace was an air freshener with this exact tree design! I swear it!"

"Are you sure?" She grabbed the proffered earring bag and studied it.

"Positive." He nodded resolutely. "This is it. The final piece of the puzzle. The Dark Flame Wolf burned the musk mill, saved the children, adopted this skunk, gave him that necklace, he gave her these earrings, I saw her with them this past Monday night and she lost one when we almost captured her. Stinkman's mother is Mrs. Wolford who is CEO of Lemming Bros. Bank, wife to Anthony Wolford, ZPD officer, and the Dark Flame Wolf."

The words hang still in the silence between them. Judy was simply staring at him with her head half-cocked. "Do you realize how insane that sounds?"

"I do." Ralph admitted, breathing a bit heavier now.

Judy began to pace back and forth, both completely oblivious to the sloth leaving their presence to head home. "This is bad. Mrs. Wolford is a very influential member of Zootopia, having funded and invested in a lot of the city's major organizations and global funds. Not to mention this would devastate Officer Wolford."

"And if we are right and we confront Mrs. Wolford, she is a highly trained and skilled opponent. We would need to call for backup before we moved in on her." Ralph reminded.

"If Bogo believes all of this and agrees to the raid." Judy was alit with purpose now, her own desire to solve this case rising from the ashes like a phoenix.

"You think you can convince him of this?" Ralph was unsure.

"Possibly. It all depends on how we present this to him. Do we know where Mrs. Wolford is now?" She asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "I haven't the foggiest. She seems to have given everyone the slip. Not even her secretary knows where she is. She's not been seen all day by anyone I've talked to. The last possible contact made was probably at Mercy Hospital where she most likely finished the job with Javier Sanchez. Aside from that, it's as if she disappeared."

A huge, resounding boom rocked the foundations of the station, causing the lights to flicker and things to clatter to the tiled floor. "Sweet cheese and crackers! What was that?" Judy crouched, looking up in alarm.

"I don't know, but it didn't sound good! Let's head outside!" Ralph motioned as he dashed out into the hallway.

They had just busted through the side door, swinging it hard and slamming it against the building with a bang. Their eyes immediately flew upwards at the light show above them. A storm had broken out, getting them both soaked, but what was most alarming was the intensity of the thunderstorm. Flashes of brilliant white streaked across the sky, encircling a singular point of space above Tundratown.

"What in the world?" Ralph gaped.

"Do you see what I see?" Judy blinked, trying to believe her eyes.

"I'm not sure." Ralph truly didn't know what to think of it.

Just overhead, above the border wall between Downtown and Tundatown, was a strange ship staying aloft via propellers. The two zeppelin like balloon buoys on each side ended in twin points that was generating a lot of the electrical energy. The lightning crackled and sparked, shooting the dangerous energy across the sky in erratic patterns. The entire ship was lurching to the side as if something was wrong with it.

"Is that…an airship?" Judy was astonished. It seemed so ancient, yet so technologically advanced. Its very existence seemed to be a contradiction.

"It's going down!" Ralph pointed at it.

The ship slanted hard to the left and began to nosedive sharply. The propellers whined ferociously as one burst into flames. There was a loud wail as the engines seemed to rev and could be heard for miles around. The lightning began spraying out in multiple directions, blasting through multiple buildings and setting many on fire. Sirens across the city cried out in unison as many emergency calls were made due to the collateral damage.

It then began to level out from its downward descent and lurched even harder towards Sahara Square. It barely clipped the barrier wall, taking out an entire section of the upper ramparts, shutting down a single heat coil keeping the district hot. Judy cringed as she heard more explosions from the falling debris off the wall. Some of the pieces must have crushed or destroyed multiple vehicles or infrastructure mechanisms. One section of the city suddenly lost all lights. This was a disaster.

"We have to get over there right now!" Judy yelled.

She and Ralph made a mad dash for the nearest cruiser, their eyes on the airship that descended out of view beyond the wall of Sahara Square. A dull roar and plume of sand rose up from beyond the barrier as they hopped into the vehicle. Taking a set of keys from her pocket, Judy started the ignition while Ralph fumbled with his seatbelt. Using the pedals built into the seat meant for smaller cops, she peeled out of the parking space and was speeding down the road.

They barreled out of the tunnel leading through the wall, sirens blaring. The wide open vista of the desert greeted them. With the darkness of night, it was very easy to see where the ship had crash landed. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near any roads or thoroughfares. In fact, it had smashed in the direct center of the biggest patch of sand in the entire district, completely remote from any actual roads they could easily take to reach the crash site.

"Grumpy, carrot farmers!" Judy swore, causing Ralph to gasp at the nature of it. "The closest we can park and walk to that thing is still a good two miles distance! We'll need to request backup at this point."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." Ralph indicated the fellow sirens coming from multiple other directions, all converging on Sahara Square.

Judy got out of the car, having parked on the side of the road, looking out past the dunes at the dull glow of fire and smoke rising from the airship. "What could have possibly caused this? Where did it even come from?"

"I have no idea…" Ralph gawked, scratching his chin.

A sense of dread settled upon them both as they looked on with trepidation at the unknown in their midst. Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Ralph suspected that, however unlikely, the Dark Flame Wolf was behind this too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an exceptionally fun chapter to write and it came together very fast. I knew that the breakthrough in Ralph's investigation had to come from Steven. I needed to depict Steven, whom we haven't seen since the first day, in such a way that it would be understandable why he was distraught and it would make sense why he wasn't fully prepared for Ralph's questioning. Working their dialogue together, we learn a few things more about Steven and his past history with Murana as his mom. It was also fun to bring back Courtney who, during the time since writing her as originally a cameo back in day 1, has taken on a much bigger role in the story. It will be interesting to see where she goes as a character and how she'll impact events. The second half of the chapter was basically to round out the entire investigation and put a nice topper onto it. Judy Hopps seemed like the perfect character not just to tie this OC-centric fic into Zootopia further, but also as a great sounding board for Ralph, since both had to bend the law to see justice done. This mutual facet of their characters made it easy for them to bond and created a great sequeway into the inciting incident that would kick off the next day.


	11. Thursday - Scents of the Past - The Fourth Morning

_Rainforest District – Tinderspire Apartments – Fourth Tier Canopy, Forest Block 2A  
_ _Thursday – 6:23 AM – Clear Skies/Slight Fog – Rainforest: Wet/Humid w/ Heavy Fog_

Steven Stinkman was sore all over. More than anything, he was sore in his loins. He groaned as his flopped over onto his stomach, his eyes focusing on the snoring body lying beside him. Courtney was blissfully asleep with one leg draped over his and the rest of her practically spread eagle, forcing him to cower in one, small portion of the bed. Both were naked, having had a long evening and night of love-making.

Stuffing his face back into his pillow, he screamed inwardly at the predicament he was in. He didn't really know why females were attracted to him, first his mom's neighbor and now Courtney. He hadn't asked for any of this. He was just minding his own business, trying to get by and do a good job at ZNN and get paid. These sorts of situations were so far off his radar that he didn't have to think about them, yet here he was, in bed with a voluptuous skunk who wanted nothing more than his babies it seemed. Good thing he used lots of protection, but it was only a matter of time before that went out the window.

Determined that he wasn't quite ready to be a father just yet, he slowly wiggled his way off the bed on his stomach. He was almost to the floor, his left side dangling off the edge when his foot was caught by hers. It slowly wrapped itself around as she rolled onto her side, grappling him with an arm and bringing him in to spoon. She nuzzled his neck and cooed.

"Good morning, baby." She murmured as she began to nibble and suck on his ear.

He shivered involuntarily. He wasn't ready for another round. "G-good morning, Courtney." He responded back, not wanting to be rude.

She huskily whispered into his ear. "You want a quickie before you have to get to work?"

"Uh…Sadly, no. As amazing as that would be, I have an early start today with a meeting with Mr. Lagopus." He lied.

Her expression perked up. "Oh! I didn't know you knew the head of ZNN personally! That's so exciting."

He actually didn't, but he did have a very convincing story as to how it could be possible. "Well, when your mom is a CEO of a major Zootopian bank and investor in ZNN, you tend to get to know the fox pretty well."

"I always thought it odd." Courtney mused, grinding up against him a bit in thought, raising her hind paw to his nose. "Odd that a fox would be trusted enough to run such a vast enterprise."

"Well, strangely enough, he's the boss and everyone working there respects him!" He chippered, wanting to be out of her grip and getting ready to leave. He almost succumbed to the paw she presented to him, her now knowing it was one of his weaknesses.

"Really?" She really was surprised. "I always figured ZNN wasn't really taken that seriously by all the other news companies because of that fact." She jiggled her toes in front of his face.

Steven scowled at this. He didn't like to be reminded of the fact that he was working for a lesser known network. Sure, it wasn't the best job in Zootopia, but it paid the bills and he enjoyed his work there. "Well, either way, it's my job." He said a bit coldly, using this moment to push her hind paw out of the way, get up and hop onto the floorboards.

Courtney's ears drooped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Look, how about I make you breakfast? I'm pretty good at that!" She tittered, sliding off the same side as Steven, giving his rump a nice squeeze in the process and causing him to yip.

Rubbing his backside at the grope, Steven glared after her as she skipped into the main living den, humming as she did so. He threw on a light t-shirt and some khaki shorts, being sure to slip a small black cylinder into his pocket. He never started the day without his scent can anymore. It was one of the few ways to utilize his scent in times of danger while still maintaining dignity. Finally, he plopped his iconic ZNN hat onto his head, smooshing down his ears.

He knew he needed to have an excuse to disentangle himself from Courtney. Knowing her, she would want to stay in all day and just snuggle, copulate, or worse, force him into some sort of marriage proposition. Did she even work or have any sort of job?

"What are you cooking?" He sniffed, delectable scents coming from the small kitchenette. His eyes widened with surprise as he noticed she was using the small oven top range installed into the counter. "Wow, you know how to use that?" He never really gave it much attention since he didn't quite know how to cook himself. He let Murana do all that when he was living with her.

"Of course! My dad taught me how to cook when I was little. Being a single parent and all, he wanted to make sure I was self-sufficient and taught me many things so I wouldn't be helpless." She turned to him and smiled. "When and if we ever get a car, I can help fix it brand spanking new if it ever breaks down."

Steven whistled softly. He had to admit, Courtney had some pretty useful skills. Maybe he had misjudged her…a little. "So, what are you making? I don't really recognize it."

"This?" She pointed at the pan with the spatula. "I figured I'd take the bananas you had on the counter getting overripe and make us some fresh banana pancakes." She brought her hind paw back up again and flashed her pads. "If you want, you can have some toe-st for dessert."

His mouth watered at both the description and her dessert. He honestly hadn't had something so homemade since Murana's cooking. Granted, she made waffles rather than pancakes and her paws smelled much stinkier, but they were still delicious. "I could take a few…" He admitted, sitting down politely at the small two-person table, stuffed in the small window nook area opposite the kitchenette.

"Great!" Courtney beamed, flipping a few onto a plate and drizzling it with some syrup she miraculously was able to find in his cupboards. Steven had forgotten he even had that up there. "Hope you love it, honey!" She simpered, nibbling a bit on his ear as she went back to make her own.

His stomach growling at him to unnecessarily remind him how hungry he was, he scooped up his fork and began tearing into it with gusto. He nearly melted with delight as the flavors in his mouth coalesced into a harmony of blissful sweetness and memories. "Mmph, this is just like my mother's!" Steven said with mouth half full.

Courtney glanced back at him. "How is she doing today? I haven't seen her since Tuesday. We need to go tell her we're getting hitched."

Steven blew out chunks of pancake onto his table. Ignoring the stinging in his nose from food particles, "What? No…no…wait." His mind was racing for some excuse to get out of whatever fate Courtney had planned for him. "She's very particular about the types of girls I get with and more so if we were ever to marry. We'd kinda need her approval." He lied through his teeth.

Sliding the fresh pancakes onto her plate, she tilted her head at him, "That's odd. She seemed very eager to get you and me together."

"She was just trying to make me feel better since I was having a down day." He blurted out, not thinking.

Her face fell as she sat down. Steven almost felt bad for having to burst her bubble. However, it brightened up almost immediately, "Well, that's okay. I'm glad she got us together. She has good taste and I'm very happy she has you for a son. If she hadn't adopted you, I would never have met you! We should call and tell her the happy news!" She exclaimed smiling, thrusting her hind paws at his to play some 'footsie' with him.

Heart racing again for an out, knowing his resolve would break if she tempted him anymore like this, Steven set his utensil down beside his plate. "That's the thing, Courtney." His serious tone caught her attention as reclined back in her chair to eat. "I haven't seen her since Monday. She won't return my calls. She hadn't shown up to work at all yesterday. I think something is wrong."

"Oh…well, you were with me most of Tuesday on our date, so you can't blame her being missing for that long." She recapped for him.

Their date started off nice like any other. They had a nice lunch together at Misty's on the Vine, a very nice outdoor restaurant in the fifth canopy of the Rainforest District. It was right next to a zipline attraction, all the way down to the forest floor.

However, throughout the course of the day, things got progressively weird and her bits of craziness started to shine through to the point he didn't call her back after they parted. So his surprise at her sudden appearance the previous day and now waking up naked in bed with her this morning was more than warranted. In reality, all he truly wanted was some company during a day he felt miserable after leaving his mother like he did at the coffee shop.

Courtney seemed very concerned, raising a paw to her chest in sympathy. "Do you want to go out together and look for her?"

He shook his head quickly, "No, I've spent the last two days off work. I need to get back. She's a big girl and can take care of herself." He had to stifle a sniffle. "I have to check in with my job and see what I've missed."

"Alright." She bounced, stabbing her pancake and slicing off a piece to eat. "I'll stick around here and freshen the place up for us!" She giggled. "I always did want to be a housewife for someone!" She practically swooned at the thought.

Raising his upper lip in a cringe-worthy way, Steven remarked, "Right. Well, please try not to move too much of my stuff around please. I'd like everything the way it is now."

She waved a paw at him, "Oh, stop. You won't even know I've been here. It'll just look very clean! Go have fun at work. I'll be here when you get back. Besides…" She waggled her eyebrows at him, "I might have something fun for us to do tonight!"

Gritting his teeth and showing off his best smile, Steven divested himself from her invasive paws, snuggling and grasping at his inner thighs with increasing urgency. He grabbed his keys and nodded at her, "I'm sure it'll be great, Courtney! See you later."

"Don't worry, Steviepoo! I'll take care of your plate for you!" She serenaded.

He hastily exited his apartment and shut the door. The future outlook of his single life was looking bleak. He couldn't stand up to the torrential wave of bachelor destruction that was Courtney. What he needed was some reassurance and maybe some backup from his mom. Maybe he could convince her that Courtney was clearly not the girl for him and then she'd have to back down.

Maybe Murana would be back at her apartment now? It was worth a shot to check before heading into work. He should probably apologize for his words and actions this past Monday. He couldn't bear the thought of not being able to talk with her another day. He sighed deeply. He really was a momma's boy.

* * *

 

_Savannah Central - The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A  
_ _Thursday – 07:54 AM – Clear Skies / Variable Winds_

Steven did a few, light leg stretches outside Murana's apartment door while waiting for her, trying to relieve the perpetual soreness he felt. After a few moments, he knocked again. Still nothing. He dug around in his pockets and pulled out her key. Even though she had moved him out after Anthony demanded he get a place of his own, she still was thoughtful enough to have a key made for him to her place just in case he ever needed to come back.

Happy at this thought, he turned the key and opened the door, relishing in the grass carpeting between his toes as he flexed and moved them through the individual blades. Mom truly did have the best décor and taste in home decorating. He had heard she paid off the owner of the apartment suites to allow her to blanket her flooring with this luxurious grass. With an internal irrigation and pesticide system built into the floor, it was kept bug free and always freshly green.

"Hello?" Steven called out into the silence.

Shutting the door behind him, he looked around the empty house. It seemed almost untouched since he last left it weeks ago. Mother was a creature of habit and did not like too change around her apartment much. He wandered the den and eating area, looking around for any signs of life. Even their neighbor's glass doorway in the wall was securely shut. It seemed nobody was home at all.

Heading further into her bedroom, Steven spied Murana's CEO blouse and skirt draped over the bed. He tilted his head. That was odd. She wouldn't just leave things out so haphazardly like that, especially in the middle of the day. If she wasn't in her uniform for work, was she out and about in her vigilante suit? Why now? He knew she only operated at night predominantly.

Missing his mom something fierce and regretting cutting her off completely after she took his note, he sprawled out on the bed. He buried his face into her clothes, breathing in deeply the scent of her still lingering on the fabrics.

He always loved her scent. He couldn't get enough of it. It was the first smell he could remember after being rescued. After spending years in the musk mill with nothing but the reeking odor of musk from the multitude of other mammals, the intoxicating aroma of her was like the fresh breeze of freedom. He owed his life to her.

"Still sniffing your momma's clothes, eh?" A suave voice echoed from the doorway.

Steven nearly jolted out of the bed, his tail rigid and standing straight up. "Zoey!" He gasped, his flight or fight response still surging through his veins.

Zoey Javan was the adorable minx of a mongoose that lived literally within the walls of Murana's apartment. Given the nature of smaller mammals living alongside larger ones in the Red Lion Suites, the building contractors had to make the most use out of the available space in the structure. So, sometimes mammals had to co-exist as neighbors. Thankfully, Murana and Zoey were longtime friends and usually got along well together.

"It's more the paws specifically," Steven tried to correct, "but there isn't any sort of crime for enjoying a particular smell."

With arms crossed and stark naked, she shrugged, looking completely blasé about the whole affair, "Hey, it's none of my business what sorts of kinks you are into. I'm hardly the one to judge." She smirked at him.

"It's not a kink!" Steven retorted, feeling a bit offended. "It's just…I have sappy attachment to my mom's scent. That's all."

"I'm sure…" She leered, hopping down the single step to the grass carpeting of the bedroom, wiggling her toes lewdly. "Just as sentimental as my paws when last you smelled them."

Steven gulped hard at this. It was no secret to those who knew him that Steven had a particular olfactory fetish where he was keenly interested in hind paws. The mere smell of them literally brought euphoria to him. When he was still living under Murana's roof as her adopted son, their neighbor, Zoey, discovered this peculiar trait and used it to great advantage not long after his 18th birthday.

"Hey…um, that's not what I came here for though." Steven slipped off the edge of the bed, taking a few steps back.

The tawny mongoose just kept advancing, her hips swaying seductively. "I'm almost hurt that you didn't come back to see me. You seemed quite smitten with my paws. If those aren't the reason, then what did you come here for?"

Feeling a numbing burn shooting up and down his limbs, Steven said with dry throat, "Ah…I'm actually here looking for my mom. Have you seen her?"

She shook her head, "I'm afraid not, but do you know who I haven't seen in a long while? My little skunkbutt!"

As much as he was excited for what he knew Zoey had in store for them both, Steven also knew he needed to find some way to defuse the situation so he could focus on his search for Murana. He and Zoey had a long, secret tryst that spanned from the time he was of age to when he finally moved out of the apartment on his own. She had apparently been keeping an eye on him for a long while and dutifully waited out the years until he was legal before giving him one of the best birthday presents he had ever received.

She sniffed a little, crinkling her nose. "Oh my…and is that another female's scent I smell on you? You have been getting around since you last left me! To think I caused this innocent flower to fall from grace." Her eyes were alight with passionate fire. "Guess it's time to see how much he's learned!"

Steven went to put his paws up, trying to ward Zoey off as she surged in to give him a big hug. "Wait, I haven't learned that m-"

He was already lost in a daze. The mongoose had her limbs wrapped around him, tail curled tightly around his. One of her legs already raised high with hind paw cradling his face, the inebriating smell of them making him lose all sense of reality. He didn't even realize he was being gently lowered to the ground as she planted kisses all over his face. The out-of-body experience of an older, more experienced female taking care of him was like rapture.

Sometimes Steven hated how much he loved to smell things, how much it made him weak in the knees to the point of complete submission. Yet he just couldn't help himself when a pleasing aroma was brought before his nose. It didn't help that every female he knew that was interested in him discovered this fact quite quickly.

Like most of the previous night with Courtney, he was in bliss. He saw the motion of his body and arms, yet he didn't quite connect that it was him that was moving them. Everything seemed to happen in a trance as he completed every task Zoey had set out for him to do. He didn't even have time to think about any guilty feelings for cheating on Courtney – in fact, he wasn't even sure it could be called that since they weren't officially an item. Just something Courtney forced upon him. He really needed a backbone when it came to females.

He hadn't even realized she was already undoing the button of his shorts, pulling them off with purpose. He just laid his head back and relaxed, turning over to look at the other side of the room when something unusual piqued his interest. Murana's eye mask was just lying on the floor of her closet in plain view for all to see.

Mother was never this careless in hiding away her outfit from Anthony. The mere fact it was visible for anyone who was looking for it caused alarm bells to sound in his head. Suddenly, the hazy fog that covered his brain lifted and he immediately pushed Zoey off of him, swiftly getting up and pulling back up his shorts.

"Hey!" She cried out, affronted. "What the hell?" Her tail was swishing angrily as she reached out to bring him back down to finish what she had started. "Don't you like us doing this anymore?"

"I do." He admitted. It was very pleasing, but he had other priorities right now. "But I'm still worried about mom. Look." He walked over and picked up the mask.

She stared blankly at it, blinking. "Okay, so what?"

He flushed as he realized something, "Oh, you probably don't know anything about this do you?"

Still on the floor, she shifted onto her rump as she leaned back on her arms. "You mean the outfit she wears when she goes out on the town late at night to murder people by burning them alive? Yeah, I know nothing about that at all."

Steven gave her a look, "Well yeah, that." Guess she did know about mom's double life. "Point is, she's very careful about hiding this from Anthony…unless he knows too?"

Zoey rolled her eyes at him, "Highly doubtful. Both of us would have heard about it long before now. Can we get back to us now?" She grinned, spreading her legs in invitation.

He shook his head, looking up towards the slide-away panel in the ceiling, it looked slightly ajar. "No, I think something is seriously wrong here."

He scrambled up the racks of clothes as Zoey sighed, realizing she wasn't going to get anything out of the skunk. Reaching the top of the upper shelf, Steven reached out and pushed aside the panel and saw a sealed baggy that had not been fully closed. The reeking stench of his musk emanated from the opening, clearly drenched in what looked to be Murana's folded vigilante suit. Plopping down lightly to the ground with the bag, he walked over to Zoey who had already put on her sweatpants and was pushing her head through a blue tank top.

"When was the last time you saw my mother?" Steven asked urgently.

Zoey stared at the bagged suit, "Probably Tuesday morning. She and Anthony had quite a row that day. About you, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if she just kicked him out for good this time. Both left in a big huff and I've honestly not seen her since."

His breathing began to get fast and panicky. "She's not been at home. She's left this out in her closet." He held up the bag. "She hasn't been seen at work and now there is a cop on her tail asking questions about her."

"A cop?" Zoey's ears popped up. "You think she was picked up?"

He looked down and frowned at the mask. "No, I don't think so. He seemed to not really have made any connection to her and the Dark Flame Wolf when I talked to him yesterday."

Zoey thought on it a few moments, tapping her chin. "That is indeed weird." Shaking her head to clear her mind, she hopped on the bed and turned on the news. She much preferred the big screen Murana had compared to her dainty one tucked away in her cramped apartment. After a few moments, she tapped him on his shoulder, "Hey, Steven? You might want to take a look at this."

He turned around at her insistence and saw live helicopter footage of a downed aircraft with dirigible qualities in what looked like a bird motif. It had crash landed in the vast expanse of the Sahara Square desert, and many cop and news reporting cars were gathered at a healthy two mile distance as it seemed a very malevolent field of electricity was blocking any closer access to the aircraft.

"You think Murana would know anything about this?" Zoey inquired, pointing at the screen.

"I don't know anything about this…" Steven stood agape. He had never seen anything like that in his life. "But, I bet Murana might be out there right now checking it out. I mean…I would. It's a fantastic story." His eyes bulged. "Wait a minute. It is a fantastic story! I should be out there reporting on it!"

He scanned the screen and tried to identify the vehicles surrounding the crash site, he had yet to see one for ZNN. That would mean he could be first on scene! After a tap on his shoulder, he turned to Zoey. "So you going there, then?" She asked with a yearning look.

He nodded resolutely. "I have to. Not only is it my job, but maybe I can find mom there too. It's a long shot, but I don't think she'd let something this big go uninvestigated."

Smiling forlornly, she bowed her head. "Alright, Steven. Go find your mom. We can catch up later."

He hesitated a brief moment before moving in to hug Zoey, which caused her eyes to shoot open in surprise. "Thanks, Zoey. You've been a good friend to me."

She beamed and patted him on the back before parting and keeping a paw on each of his shoulders. "And you've been a fantastic lover. Thanks for letting me pop you."

He blushed furiously at this. "Y-yeah…It was fun."

"Next time then?" She smirked.

Steven thought about it a moment before winking at her, "We'll see, 'Zoey Toey' can wait for now." She giggled at his nickname for her.

Giving her a peck on the cheek, he bounded off through the living den and out the door. Hearing the door slam shut behind him, Zoey sighed heavily. She truly did love that little guy. Sliding off Murana's bed, she picked up the discarded bag and stuffed the eye mask into it. Zipping it up securely this time, she took the time to hide it back up into the compartment space as a gesture of good will towards her neighbor.

* * *

 

_Sahara Square – Northern Sand Dunes – Three Miles Northwest of the Oasis Hotel & Casino  
_ _Thursday – 10:02 AM – Sporadic Clouds / Heavy Winds_

The entire air was filled with the hum of arcing energy. It was not hard to notice the bubble of electric currents encasing the strange ship that fell from the sky in the early morning hours that day. It was large enough to be seen several miles away and of course all the tenants of the upper floors of the Oasis had fantastic views of the downed aircraft. Each patron was taking millions of pictures with their phones, each and every one going viral. Probably everyone in Zootopia knew about this mysterious ship by now.

Steven was biting his nails as he quickly paid off the bus driver for the fare and leaped out of the carriage onto the dusty asphalt. He had to expeditiously take public transportation routes that wove back through to his house where Courtney was thankfully not present so he could grab his backpack and video recording equipment. Charting a course to get to Sahara Square quickly, he finally made it within an hour's time.

Adjusting the brim of his ZNN cap on his head, Steven nearly skipped down the road to the cluster of vans and cop vehicles huddled at one end of the freeway. There was still no ZNN news van in sight. What the heck was Lagopus doing? All the other news agencies would be getting the drop on this before they would! Shaking his head at the incompetence of his superiors, he whipped out his camcorder and shoved a paw through the holding strap and aimed it directly at the crash site.

Attaching a wired microphone to his shirt collar, he began filming. "Hello, Zootopia! This is Steven Stinkman here, reporting live from Sahara Square at what looks to be a crash site for a very archaic airship. That's right folks! This is no blimp or even a plane that many are used to seeing. This is, in fact, a legitimate airship, complete with ballast balloons and propellers. It truly looks like something out of history!" His voice was both evened and excited.

He shifted his camera over to where the cops were congregating just ahead of the news vehicles. "And here we have Zootopia's finest out here this morning cordoning off the site. Not like we need any incentive with that field of electricity blocking anyone getting to the downed airship." Steven faltered a bit as he saw through his lens the recognizable visage of his 'dad', Anthony Wolford, barking orders to a few other officers.

"Grizzoli, I need you to trace the cordon as far north as the barrier wall to the west. Fangmeyer, I need you to do the same to the east. We do not want any civilians breaching this perimeter until we can figure out what we're dealing with." He turned to the side and got the attention of another, smaller colleague. "Swinton, I need you to coordinate with Precinct 3 here in Sahara Square and request additional assistance in containing this situation."

Turning the camera off, Steven tucked it back away into his pack and walked up to Anthony. "I see you're wearing your new rank well." Steven noticed, seeing the new shiny bars on his lapel.

Sniffing with irritation and turning to look down at Steven, Anthony's face contorted into a grimace, "What do you want, rat?"

"Is that any way to speak to your son?" Steven snarked, folding his arms and glaring at the wolf who married his mom.

"You're only my son because Murana adopted you into the family long before I came along. If I had a say, you wouldn't even be within thirty feet of my family." He hissed, trying to keep his voice down from being overhead by his partners.

"Wow. No wonder she kicked you out of our home the other day. With an attitude like that, I wouldn't want you in my house either!" Steven accused loudly, enough to earn several stares from other officers.

Sensing the inquisitive glances of his colleagues at the altercation, Anthony gripped Steven's arm a bit roughly and drew him off to the side out of earshot of most of the others. He leaned low to be on eye level with the diminutive skunk, "Why are you here? What do you want? Come to gloat? It's because of you that Murana and I are having troubles!"

Feeling strangely bold despite this menacing wolf just inches from his face, Steven riposted, "Funny, it's because of you that Murana and I are having troubles. It all started when you convinced her to kick me out, and now she's run away most likely because of your bad attitude."

Anthony blinked, not comprehending what Steven said. "What?" His snout scrunched up trying to deduce the statement. "Murana ran away?"

"Yeah, apparently Zoey hasn't seen her since you two had a big fight. I was just at her apartment. I thought for sure you would have come groveling back by now and seen her before I visited." Steven susurrated.

"I have a bit more respect for myself than she does to be doing that." He snapped.

"What a sad person you are. She loved you and you couldn't see that even after you left. No wonder she chose me over you when it finally came down to it. Good to hear that mom defends me even when I'm not around." Steven finished with finality.

It took all of Anthony's willpower not to reach out and strangle this smug little skunk to death. He fingers were flexing and his claws were sharp. Gnashing his teeth, he tried to control his temper, "So have you just come here to rub my failures in my face or did you want to tell me more about the fact Murana is missing?"

"Well, I don't really know about missing just yet. I know she hasn't been seen in about a day or so, at least not by me." Steven replied, thoughtfully going over the last few days.

"Did you check at her work? Sometimes she gets absorbed in her job so much that she forgets to come home." Anthony offered, the current wave of jealousy over Steven passing.

"Of course I did. I checked early yesterday morning when I…" He caught himself. Steven didn't really want to say exactly what he was upset with Murana about. Anthony still had no clue about his wife being a vigilante-by-night. "When I stopped by to ask her for something at the bank. Her new secretary didn't really give me any positive answers as to her whereabouts."

"Hmm, that is a bit worrying. Especially since she has not returned any of my calls." Anthony reasoned, looking troubled.

"So you did come groveling back and called her." Steven cracked a smile.

"Stop it!" Anthony glared.

"Excuse me, I know you." A voice called out from the side.

Both turned to see a rabbit and wildebeest in uniform approaching. The rabbit was obviously Judy Hopps, the sole bunny cop in the entire force. Even Steven was aware of who she was just by word of mouth alone. The other made him groan, however. It was the same wildebeest that came to his house yesterday to question him on his musk mill experience and his mother. He was making a direct beeline for him.

"Ugh, what do you want? I've told you everything I know." Steven wailed, taking a few steps back instinctively to hide behind the larger frame of Anthony.

"You two have met?" Anthony remarked, surprised.

"Yes." Ralph replied abruptly for Steven. "I was just doing some off duty investigation that led me to the doorstep of Mr. Stinkman here, which led me on the trail of his mother, Mrs. Wolford."

"Off duty investigation? This is highly irregular…wait." Anthony's brain caught up with the conversation. There were too many things happening at once here. "Why are you after my wife?"

Ralph grunted as Judy elbowed him in the ribs, electing him to respond before this conversation spiraled into a direction nobody wanted. "What Officer Grayz is saying is that Mrs. Wolford's name came up during the investigation of a prior case that Mr. Stinkman was involved in."

"Although I wouldn't be surprised Steven would be involved with anything relating to Murana, I don't understand why you two would be on it." Anthony gave a withering stare at Steven, who remained oblivious to it, his eyes only on the wildebeest.

"Wait, your son is Steven here?" Ralph finally connected the dots, his hoof pointing at the skunk.

"Not by choice." Anthony growled, crossing his arms. "That still doesn't answer my question."

"Well, we believe your wife might have been instrumental in a specific case over a decade ago and Grayz here would have liked to speak with her about it to get some more information regarding those who were responsible for the crime." Judy explained.

"So you're investigating a cold case." Anthony stated flatly. "That's dumb. There is a reason they are called cold cases. They should be left in the past, where they belong."

"Not when it involves the Dark Flame Wolf." Ralph interjected.

Anthony scoffed, "Now the Dark Flame Wolf is involved in a case with my wife and estranged son?" This jab at his character drew a glower from Steven. "What other crazy nonsense are you going to be telling me next, Grayz? If you don't mind," He indicated the big aircraft in clear view of them all, "I have a potential situation that could turn serious at any moment and need to devote my time to this."

"That's the reason I came to your son in the first place. I was trying to track down your wife to ask her some questions and the only person remotely available that was connected to her in some way was Mr. Stinkman here." Ralph stepped to the side to get a better view of the skunk. "I didn't actually make the connection she was your wife until late last night."

"I told you all I know, ok?" Steven shouted back, feeling a bit insecure with both the prying cop and the unlikeable father-in-law right beside him. If this continued any further, he might go into a panic attack and need his inhaler to calm down.

"You couldn't find her either?" Anthony probed, queuing off the fact that here was yet another person who couldn't track down his wife. If it was Steven, that was one matter, but here was a fellow colleague who also couldn't find Murana. Now it was getting downright concerning.

Ralph bowed his head in the affirmative, "Seeing you here with Steven, I had hoped you would know where she was, for sure."

Anthony looked away a bit embarrassed, "We…had a fight the other day. I actually haven't spoken to her since."

"If you don't mind me asking," Judy offered, "What was the fight about? Maybe that could help tell us where she might have gone off to?"

Anthony pinched the bridge of his snout as he considered his options. On one hand, he had a full scale operation here to attend to in Sahara Square, on the other, he had his wife to worry about.

He looked at her, "It was about…having children. She had mentioned to me the other day that she couldn't have any, so she was looking at local orphanages for replacements now that Steven was moved out. I didn't really like that, since I wanted a wolf cub of my own with her. So hearing about this from her really set me off."

Judy's ears dropped at this, clutching her chest with a paw. "I'm sorry to hear that, Wolford." She almost wanted to reach out and put a paw on his arm, but he was a bit too tall for that and she doubted he'd appreciate it much. "It must have been quite a blow to you."

He looked balefully behind him at Steven, who was still placing the wolf between him and Ralph. "It was, Hopps, it was"

"Did you say local orphanages?" Ralph grilled, not really privy to the entire emotional quagmire that was unfolding before his eyes.

"Yeah, she mentioned she had found some raccoon somewhere and wanted him as a second son." He responded without much emotion. He was just drained already of this conversation and just wanted to get back to his job.

"I'm going to get a brother?" Steven asked with wide eyes.

"Through no effort on my part." Anthony snarked.

Ignoring the family squabble, even Judy picked up on what Ralph was hinting at. "She didn't happen to tell you what orphanage she went to, did she?" She put on her best smile.

"Yeah, she did. Some Tail Hollow place down in Happy Town." He sniffed, his attention returning to the conversation. "I'm actually not really sure where it is."

"Not a happy part of town, that much I can assure you." All turned to see a red fox in uniform with a snazzy pair of aviator shades. Clopping alongside him was a rather irritated brown horse with outdated trousers and buttoned work shirt, complete with suspenders to keep his loose pants up.

"Nick! Detective Oates!" Judy beamed, feeling utterly star-struck at her favorite detective coming over to pay a personal visit to them out here in Sahara Square.

"Good to see you too, Carrots." Nick smiled as he took off his shades and clapped Ralph on the arm as best as he could reach. "What's up, buddy? Any luck finding the ghost of Dark Flame Wolf?"

Ralph shot an accusing look at Judy who just raised her paws up in supplication, "Hey, he's my partner and friend, I had to tell him what you were up to."

"Actually, I do have a few leads, just trying to see how they pan out." He drawled, not really happy about his business being so public within the police community.

"Anyway, thanks for the ride, Oats'n'Honey." Nick clicked his tongue, winking at the detective, who just snorted in disdain. "I got it from here."

"Good." Oates grumbled. "I have to get back to the station and deal with more nonsense with this Mr. Big fellow."

"Oh my, Mr. Big?" Nick feigned ignorance of the name. "Going after the big moneymakers, eh?"

"Hardly." Oates grumped. "Bogo thinks the latest bail posted for this lemming arrested earlier this week for assault and battery has something to do with Big's enterprises."

"That's a pretty big leap of logic." Ralph was stunned. He knew of the name, Mr. Big, but despite all the negative press attached to his moniker, there was very little attached to his name that could be proven. Much like the current case he was working on, he noted.

"Not as 'big' as you'd think." Judy said knowingly.

"So what are you all up to?" Oates asked the group, even though the question was clearly meant for Hopps.

"We were actually just discussing them leaving on some fool's errand about the Dark Flame Wolf so I can focus back on this crash here." Anthony roughly thrusted his paws towards the obvious field of death before them.

"Ah, Dark Flame Wolf. Been tracking her for quite a while. Nothing tangible has come up, sadly." Oates shook his head, seemingly not unhappy about the issue.

"Just as fruitless as that Impaler case you keep saying you'll solve any week now, huh?" Nick ribbed, clearly having fun with his equine escort.

"I'll have you know, we are dealing with a master criminal here! He is very hard to pin down and leaves very little evidence for us to track!" Oates brayed, pointing a hoof at Nick.

"Let's all calm down now!" Judy stepped in, holding paws out for peace between the multiple parties. "It's clear there are several matters here that need to be addressed. For one, we need someone to stay behind and take care of the downed aircraft over there, however Anthony and Steven are both worried for Mrs. Wolford and her whereabouts. So, how about this: Nick and I will assist the situation here while Anthony and Steven go investigate what happened to Mrs. Wolford. Does that sound good?"

"I'd like to join that search, if that's alright?" Ralph interposed.

"I don't think the crew would take a fox and bunny seriously unless a more reputable detective was on the scene with you to back up your authority." Oates reminded.

"Excuse me? Hold your horses, Mr. Fruity Oates. I do believe Officer Hopps has more than proven herself to the others that she can handle this." Nick defended her, seriously upset with the horse's tone.

"True." Anthony admitted, stepping in and placing a paw on Nick's shoulder. "But Oates is right. Neither of you are a sergeant like me or a detective like him. He'd need to accompany you if I were to leave to go find my wife."

"Reality is cruel." Nick huffed, folding his arms and looking down angrily at a patch of sand on the road.

"Maybe one day we'll be detectives ourselves, ok, Nick?" Judy proposed, giving his arm a little squeeze. She returned her attention back to Anthony, "So, do you want to go find your wife while we take care of things here?"

Anthony looked from Ralph, to Steven and back to Judy again. "I'd need to get clearance from Chief Bogo before I go." He said drearily.

"Nonsense!" Oates burst out unperturbed. "Let me handle Bogo. You go find your wife. Officer Hopps and I have this all in hand."

"Officer Wilde, too." Nick raised his paw to remind Oates he was still here.

"Err…of course." Oates conceded, looking put off.

All eyes turned to Anthony, the one to make the call. Steven could tell he was struggling hard on deciding what he should do next. He was just promoted to sergeant and had a responsibility to uphold his new position and prove himself worthy of the task, but he could also see in Anthony the turmoil of his potentially missing wife. The fact they did not end on good terms when he saw her last did not bode well for her current whereabouts.

"You do still love mom, don't you?" Steven asked.

That did it. With a determined look, Anthony brought up the walkie-talkie to his muzzle, "All units, all units. This is Sergeant Wolford. I am being reassigned, Detective Oates will be managing the situation here with the assistance of Officer Hopps and Wilde. Please refer to him for anything further." With that he clicked off and handed the device to Oates. "Grizzoli and Fangmeyer are extending the cordon further north while Swinton is requesting more help from Precinct 3. You got everything from here?"

"Of course. Wasn't really looking forward to diving deep into this Mr. Big thing. Don't run the race if you don't have the nerve sort of thing." He grinned at his own humor, everyone else just blinked at him. "Either way, I can handle this. Come on, Officer Hopps…and, um, Wilde." He added as an afterthought.

"Good luck!" Judy whispered to Ralph before heading off with the other two.

"So what was the name of that orphanage she said she found that raccoon in?" Ralph asked.

"Tail Hollow." Steven piped up, reading off the copious notes he had been taking on his notepad during that whole conversation. "In Happy Town."

"I do believe I saw your wife this past Monday there." Ralph confirmed.

Anthony's eyes widened, "You were there? Why?"

Ralph shifted a bit, "For personal reasons of my own, but I did recognize her earrings from that day."

"Wait, what?" Both Anthony and Steven said in unison.

Ralph stuttered slightly, "W-well, as I said before, I was investigating a musk mill incident which led me to your son, Steven. He confirmed a few things for me to include a present he gave her of a pair of earrings that matched the one found at a crime scene." He pulled out a small evidence baggy with the pine tree earring visible to everyone.

"What are you trying to say?" Anthony narrowed his eyes.

"I think what Ralph is trying to say," Steven stepped in, getting between the two, "Was that Tail Hollow might be a good place to start looking for her since she was last seen there by any one of us." He looked at Ralph meaningfully, almost as if to will him to keep his mouth shut on what he most likely suspected of his mother.

Anthony regarded the two suspiciously before waggling a finger at Steven, "Fine, but one or preferably both of you better start telling me what's going on when we get there. I feel like I'm being left in the dark and I don't like it one bit! Come on, we'll get in my car and I'll drive." He waved them to follow as he stomped off towards his vehicle.

Steven breathed a sigh of relief. He had no idea how much Ralph knew at this point about Murana, but it was probably already a lot more than what Anthony knew. He had no idea how Anthony would react if he found out his wife was the Dark Flame Wolf. To make matters more complicated, Steven was sure Ralph was probably questioning Anthony and wondering how much he knew or if he was a corrupt cop covering up for his wife's activities. This was going to be a fun trip to Tail Hollow, that much was for sure, Steven gathered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coordinating heavily with Berserker88 since this Steven Stinkman was his character, I had a lot of fun formulating and creating this chapter. Like I did with day 3, I figured it was nice to have yet another change of pace and focus all of day 4 on another character - one we only had a few scenes with already, but was intricately involved in all things Murana. Who better to track for the next few chapters than her own son, Steven? I knew I needed to account for his absence the last few days and progress the story arc that involved Courtney while giving out some much needed fleshing out to her character. I also added a few tidbits of world building with regards to skunks that'll come into play as well. It was also fun to have Zoey return here in an unexpected capacity of a sexy minx that deflowered our fair Steven. She was also used as a means to an end to get Steven on the path to run headlong into his father and Ralph once more which would kickstart the next chapter into high gear. The scene with the multitude of characters talking was both difficult, yet rewarding to write as I let the characters dictate the flow of how the group would ultimately get to Tail Hollow. A well conceptualized chapter that I'm very proud of that brings in so many OCs and story elements together in a satisfying way.


	12. Thursday - Scents of the Past - The Fourth Afternoon

_Downtown – Tail Hollow Orphanage – Happytown District – Corner of Deluge Ave and 34th St._   
_Thursday – 12:11 PM – Sporadic Clouds / Moderate Winds w/Occasional Gusts_

It was a complete mess. Steven had tried to forget his time living here in Happytown. Before Murana was a CEO of Lemming Bros. Bank, she had a small flat here in this derelict part of Zootopia. The steam plumes from various chimneys spired higher into the sky, giving the entire place a rancid odor that was stinging to the nose. The usual assortment of bums and hobos littered the streets as refuse was strewn about the walkways. It hadn't changed much in the years since he and Murana moved to central downtown.

They could see the disaster long before they reached it. There were multiple chunks of brick and mortar scattered across the road to the point that Anthony could drive no further and had to park a bit further out so they could all walk to the orphanage. They had to avoid taking shortcuts through the alleys to their destination. Even as a small group armed with guns, there were still places in Zootopia where it was not wise to tread through.

The sight of the building brought a small gasp from Ralph, who had been here recently. The entire upper floor and roof was completely blown off. Part of the first and second floors and all of the third was open to the elements. Sprawled out in front of the main entrance were piles of boards, broken bed mattresses and dresser frames. It seemed they were dumping all the unusable furniture and structure support out by the curb for Thursday trash pickup.

"This is plain awful." Ralph remarked, his mouth agape at the state of Tail Hollow. "I was just here on Monday and it was perfectly fine."

All were curious as to what happened here. Gingerly stepping over the debris, they proceeded through the front entrance, its door hanging half off its hinges. Inside wasn't much better. There were claw marks along various walls, floors and stair railings. Several blood stains marked the places where bodies were placed, all gone now, supposedly to the morgue. The biggest thing all noticed was the pervasive silence within the orphanage.

Anthony spotted a small red panda dressed up in a habit coming out of a side doorway, carrying what looked to be a garbage bag. She hadn't noticed them yet. "Excuse me, ma'am. Can you please tell me what happened here? I'm Officer Wolford from the ZPD." He flashed his badge just to make sure she understood his intentions.

The poor thing literally jumped out of her skin at his introduction, immediately dropping the bag. She looked ready to flee, but the sight of the bronze badge gave her pause. "Where were you…?" She warbled miserably, visibly shaking.

"Pardon?" Ralph was confused, and it seemed he wasn't alone.

"We were attacked by ruthless pirates. Where were you?!" The panda began at a fast clip, her voice getting faster and more pitched as she went along. "We tried to call you again and again, but we got nothing but a dead tone. They killed Matron…they killed many others. The children! They took the children!" She was near hysterical, as if reliving the events all over again.

"Pirates? What in blazes does that mean? You mean like looters?" Anthony offered.

Steven came up to the red panda and put an arm around her, her body reacting positively to his touch. She turned to look at him as he calmed her, "It's okay now, the police are here and we just want to know what happened." Seeing the panda nod her head, Steven took her to sit down on a nearby pile of boards that could best be used now as a bench. "So can you tell us what happened here?"

A bit more relaxed now that a smaller mammal was interrogating her, she began explaining, oblivious to the fact Steven had reached around into his backpack and flipped the record button on his camera.

"It was pirates. Predators like I've never seen around here before." She still had wide eyes as she was recounting.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Ralph put a hoof out to stop her. "Can you please tell us your name and what you do here?"

Staring up at the wildebeest in casual attire, the panda was a bit put off. The only one of the three who even remotely looked like a cop was the wolf and she was a bit spooked to be talking to him. "My name is Claire Fulgens. I used to work under the Matron here caring for the children before she…was killed."

"Were any of the children hurt?" Ralph inquired, feeling apprehensive about the answer.

"Did you get a good look at the killers?" Anthony grilled, eyes intense.

"Please guys, one at a time." Steven put out a paw to stop the two cops. He could see that Claire was getting agitated again by being questioned so quickly. It was clear that even over a day since the incident, she was still in shock. "Let her speak in her own time." He turned to her and gave a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "Can you please answer the questions as you feel you are able to?"

She shook her head a bit more forcefully than intended, "None of the children were harmed. They were roughed up a bit, but it seemed like they were what they wanted."

"I don't understand. What do you mean, what they wanted?" Anthony was flummoxed. He still didn't really have any idea what these creeps would want with an orphanage.

Her big eyes stared up at the larger wolf, her entire frame still shivering from the memory. "They only came for the children. They rounded them up, tied them together and lifted them into the sky into their demon ship. Any caretakers that got in their way were killed…like Matron." She began to sob, stuffing her paws into her face as she let it out.

"That's terrible." Steven's jaw dropped.

It was feeling all too eerie to him. He remembered when he was kidnapped, taken to a musk mill to be drained weekly and to be sold to the highest bidder. To rot in cages until the next time he was called to produce more musk. He wondered if the raccoon boy that Murana was looking to adopt was here and one of the ones that got taken away. What horrible fates were they experiencing right now?

"Did they take all the kids?" Steven asked, not even concerned about the story for ZNN anymore.

"No." She sniffled, trying to dry her eyes on her sleeve. "They left the older ones, those just hitting puberty. They only wanted the younger cubs. None of the adults were taken or killed if they stayed out of the way."

"Ma'am, can you tell us what they looked like?" Ralph pressed, a bit more gently than Anthony did earlier.

"Like pirates. Like the ones you used to see on those old television shows when we were kids. Dressed up to the nines with buttoned fronts and big brimmed hats, each carrying swords at their hips or muskets in their hands." Claire revealed.

All simply stared at her, it seemed a bit too outlandish of a story. "And these pirates…" Anthony was thinking it over as he spoke, "They did this to the roof of the place? How?" He pointed up at the open sky above.

Claire shivered and huddled close to the skunk, who only hugged her tighter. With a deep breath and more reassuring pats from Steven, she continued, "I don't know…there was a huge boom and the entire building shook hard. Then my fur began to stand on end as lightning blew the entire roof off. Then they descended and started grabbing the kids one by one. A wolf showed up soon after and tried to fight them, but was also taken."

"A wolf, you say?" Ralph was strongly attentive at this very moment.

"What did she look like?" Anthony barked, causing Claire to recoil a bit. He checked himself, "I'm sorry, did you get a look at what she was wearing?"

"All red…she had a mask on and was taking down pirates left and right, but was stopped by a fox." Her lower lip quivered, but her speech was steady now, as if she wanted to get this horrific experience out in the open and be done with it.

"The Dark Flame Wolf…" Ralph mused, rubbing his chin. Steven tensed up at this, but did nothing to betray his inner turmoil at knowing that his mom might have been kidnapped right alongside the children.

"You said a fox took her away? Why her and not any of the other adults when all they were after were the cubs?" Anthony was getting more frustrated by the minute. None of this was making any sense.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know. It seemed they knew each other and she just…gave up fighting and they took her away." She turned her head into Steven and just buried it into his chest, wanting nothing more than to just escape from it all. Steven just held her tight.

"I guess you won't mind if we look around." Anthony informed, sensing that they would get nothing further from the panda.

He and Ralph began rummaging around the place, lightly stepping over the shredded beams that fell from the ceiling, crushing the primary staircase up to the second floor. There were more blood stains here and there with scraps of torn clothing and what looked like some remnants of metal. Anthony whistled for Ralph to come over and take a look.

"Do you recognize any of this?" Anthony held up a small kunai and what looked to be a small grappling claw. He brought it close to sniff it, flinching back suddenly. "Ugh, smells like skunk and…" He grimaced, but brought his nose closer to take another whiff. "And…Murana?"

Steven was rooted to the spot, and not only because the red panda had fallen asleep on him from pure exhaustion. His ears flicked over to the conversation as Ralph expounded, "That…corroborates with the evidence I've gathered regarding the Dark Flame Wolf." Ralph paused briefly, unsure if he should press on with his final thought. "She is Murana Wolford." He said with some finality.

Anthony stayed kneeling on one knee as he held the cool metal in his paw. He didn't even bother to look up at the wildebeest standing right beside him. He was stock still for what seemed like hours. At length, he finally spoke in a whisper, "What is the meaning of this?"

"I don't understand." Ralph truly didn't. He took a step back at the menacing tone of Anthony.

The wolf rose up to come to eye level with the wildebeest. "Are you accusing my wife of being a mass murderer?" His grip was so tight on the kunai in his paws that a small trickle of blood began beading along the edge of it.

"You mean you didn't know?" Steven's insides went into a somersault as the words left his mouth almost unbidden. He needed to negate the situation now. Any further and he could see a fight erupting between the two cops. Both turned bewildered at Steven, who gulped heavily at their penetrating gazes, each demanding answers. "Yeah, my mom is the Dark Flame Wolf. What of it? I wasn't about to let you," He pointed at Anthony, "Arrest and lock away the one person in my entire life that means the world to me. She's done far more than you know."

"Is this a joke?" Anthony scoffed, looking incredulously at Steven. "Are you just agreeing with Grayz just to piss me off because you hate me?"

"I never really hated you." Steven's face drooped. "I just hated the fact you never liked me and convinced Murana to have me move out. I only wanted to stay with you guys and be a real family."

"And I wanted a son to call my own. A cub of my own blood." Anthony fired back.

"You did have a son to call your own, you just rejected him!" Steven gently set Claire down, who was now stirring from the altercation and stood up to Anthony. "Don't get angry at me because she's unable to have kids. Yeah, I knew that long before you did." He responded to a look from Anthony. "I knew a lot of things about her, because she loves and trusts me. She might love you, but it is quite clear she doesn't fully trust you. Would you trust your cop husband knowing you are a vigilante dealing lethal judgment on the streets?"

"And you condone this sort of behavior out of your mother?" Ralph stepped in. He was a bit confused as to where Steven stood with his mother.

"What?" He turned and raised his brow in surprise. "No! I only found out what she truly did about a week ago! Why would I be okay with my mom killing people? But it's not like I could stop her if I tried." He glanced back to Anthony, "You know how stubborn she is. It didn't really matter what I said to her, she continued to do what she wanted anyway. It was the reason I left her this week, I gave her an ultimatum to not kill another person and yet she went and did it regardless of my feelings. I am upset. I am hurt. But most of all, I am ashamed to say that the person I most love is the one who has killed so many."

"So she is a villain…" Ralph surmised.

"Don't talk about my wife like that!" Anthony snarled.

"You defend her? Despite all she's done?" Ralph accused.

"No! I'm no crooked cop!" Anthony swiped the air with his paw, furious at his integrity being called out by some greenhorn from the burrows. "This is a lot to process right now. I still don't believe she's the Dark Flame Wolf…I would have known or sensed it."

"Clearly you didn't." Ralph pointed out.

"So, what now?" Steven asked, quickly changing tack to avoid Anthony rounding on Ralph for that comment. He truly didn't know where they should go from here. He just knew he needed to calm down. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his inhaler and gave it a huge puff to clear his nerves and his lungs.

Anthony looked down at his paws, still holding the weapon evidence. "We take these back to the lab at ZPD and have them analyzed. We'll go from there depending on what we find." He seemed to be numb at this point, shutting off all emotion just to get the job done.

"Given what I did all yesterday, I'm a bit too invested to let this go. I'm coming with you." Ralph insisted.

"Fine, whatever. Just stay out of my way." Wolford really did not care for this newbie.

Steven knelt down next to Claire as the other two headed out back to the cruiser. "You stay safe. I got a few buddies I can call on to help clean up this mess. They should be here later today to help." He squeezed her shoulder one last time as she mouthed her thanks to him. With a beaming smile, he rose up and trailed after the other two.

* * *

 

_Savannah Central – Zootopia Police Department – Off Freedom Circle Across from City Hall_   
_Thursday – 3:03 PM – Sporadic Clouds / Variable Winds_

"So you want me to distract Chief Buffalo Butt long enough for you to check in with the lab and investigate these weapons you found at some orphanage in the hopes they'll lead you to the Dark Flame Wolf? Am I getting it about right?" Nick clarified, arms crossed wearing a suspicious look aimed directly at Ralph.

"Please be more respectful of our chief!" Ralph gawked at the audacity of this fox.

"He is respectful." Anthony pointed out. "It's just Wilde's way."

Ralph stared at them for a few moments before explaining, "It's to help find Wolford's wife. We won't be too long."

Nick glanced over at Steven, who was standing close and a bit behind Anthony, looking around the ZPD. It was evident this was his first time being in the place. "He's actually not supposed to be in there with you two." He bowed his head in the direction of the skunk.

"Oh, now you're a stickler for protocol, Wilde?" Anthony snorted. "He's fine, I'll take responsibility for him. How goes the situation out in Sahara?"

"Well, we actually just got back about a few minutes ago. Oates had to go do something and Hopps is in her cubicle working on paperwork, or so she says. Precinct 3 showed up finally and they seem to be managing the entire crowd out there. It seems the situation has stabilized, but no one is any closer to figuring out what is going on out there." Nick sighed, it looked like he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. With a sudden, new roommate like Anthony showing up at his doorstep, it was a lot harder to get a restful night.

"That's good to hear. Thanks for covering that." Anthony seemed genuinely grateful for Wilde assisting in covering for him.

"Guess it's my turn to cover for you." Nick yawned. "Fine, fine. I'll go distract the chief while you go figure out what any of this has to do with your wife. I'm too tired and confused to figure it out right now. Besides, anything that'll get you out of my home and back where you belong is fine by me." He added the last with a toothy grin and wink.

"You're a gentlemammal and a scholar!" Ralph whooped, moving forward to pat Wilde on the back.

Deftly dodging the gesture, he held a paw up to the wildebeest. "Easy with the compliments, you'll be stampeding all over me with them. I'm just helping out my friends. That's all." He motioned with his fingers between himself and Ralph, who seemed a bit miffed at Nick's response to his compliment. "I help you, you help me and I agree that I never saw you." He clicked his tongue like a trigger.

"Thanks again, Wilde." Anthony sagged, looking much relieved that Bogo wouldn't be breathing down his neck about any of this.

"No worries! Good luck finding your wife. Looking forward to hearing the whole story over a bug shake at Bugga Burger! Tomorrow at five, alright? It's a date then!" Finger-gunning as he left, he headed off towards the elevators to no doubt annoy Bogo about something frivolous.

"Remind me again why a fox is working at this department?" Ralph asked. It did seem odd that someone of his kind would be working here.

"He's a good cop and a great friend." Anthony admitted, looking after the swishing red tail disappear around the corner. "Hopps vouched for him and despite a lot of misgivings across the department, he has proven himself to be pretty reliable."

"He's a bit rough around the edges." Ralph observed.

"As most good cops are." Anthony defended. Waving a paw to follow him, "Come on, we don't have much time. Let's get to Raina down in the basement and get these two things looked at." His gaze passed over Steven, "You come too. Stay close and stay silent and…don't touch anything, please?"

"Yes, of course!" Steven fumbled at being addressed directly so suddenly.

Steven was a bit anxious, even though excitement was at the forefront of his mood. He had never been in the ZPD before. He never wanted to come here and most definitely never on the wrong side of the law. He was still a bit worried that Ralph or Anthony might connect him to the musk-scented weapons of Murana and declare him an accomplice and jail him for life as a result. Despite these fears, he was still curious about what went on behind closed doors where most civilians had no reason being.

They rode down to the bottom floor in silence, being ushered out by Anthony as they paced the austere corridors lined with inlaid cone sconces that tried to give a sense of décor to an otherwise bland look. Both followed the wolf, since he knew where he was going. They turned a few corners and entered a swinging door that led to a haphazard mess of examination tables, evidence bins stacked high on several counters and a lone sloth sitting in the middle of it all, squinting at the computer monitor in front of her.

The sloth had been there longer than most could remember, and many in the station relied on her methodical expertise to get the job done. The initial shock of seeing a sloth in such a pivotal role in the ZPD wore off for many once they realized the general pace of Zootopia was a lot slower than one would expect. Cases would not be solved within a day and paperwork could take weeks to get approved and finalized before being filed away. So her speed was perfectly on par with the operations tempo of the police department.

"Afternoon, Raina." Anthony greeted, not giving her much notice. "We'll just be a few moments with one of the computers. We'll be out of your fur shortly."

If she had heard him, she gave no indication. Not looking for permission, Anthony settled into one of the chairs lining the side wall with multiple, small cubicle booths with a lab computer at each one. Alongside each workstation were several devices where one could scan in evidence on the tray beneath the iris and pull up a 3D model of it in the computer, complete with density and material make-up details of the object in question.

Setting the kunai and torn cloth underneath the scanner, he yelled back, "Just sit over there along the wall, Steven, and don't touch anything." After a moment's thought, he added, "And don't report on anything you see here either. Don't make me regret allowing you in here."

Seeing that this might take a while and neither Raina nor Ralph would be much company, Steven shuffled over to the spare seats that seemed to be for much larger mammals. Heaving himself up onto one, he flopped down properly and began swinging his legs beneath the chair since they dangled well above the ground. He only stopped when the wildebeest decided to sit right next to him with a grunt. What did he want now?

"You two seem a bit tense around each other." Ralph commented without looking at the skunk.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Steven snarked, not really wanting to converse with Ralph right now. "I don't think you need me to recap why we're at odds with each other."

"No, I can gather enough to piece together the whole picture here." Ralph's analytical mind was going into overdrive. "You and Murana had a good thing going as a family unit. Suddenly this wolf comes in, sweeps your mom off her feet, and then decides he wants you moved out because he hates you."

Steven looked up at Ralph before returning to observe Anthony doing his research, "I wouldn't say he hated me either actually. I don't think Mom would have tolerated him much if he outright hated me."

"Well, they did have that fight this week as he said." Ralph mentioned.

Pondering that for a moment, Steven added, "It might have something to do with me. I don't know. I mean, I don't dislike the guy. He seems like a swell wolf. Got a good job and all. When he first got married to Mom, I did try my best to welcome him and treat him like a dad."

"I gather he didn't want someone like you?" Ralph probed, trying to better gauge Steven's emotions so as to not have the skunk close him off like he did before.

"I don't even know why. You'd think as a potential suitor to a female, you'd want to accept everything about them, right? To include their existing kids? Why bother entering into the relationship at all then? I mean, there was that other fox who loved me. He was fantastic and I would have loved him to be my dad." Steven bemoaned.

"Other…fox?" Ralph was inquisitive now. This mysterious figure of Murana, who was almost assuredly the Dark Flame Wolf, was starting to be quite the complex figure now. There seemed to be more to her than he had first assumed.

"If you two are done talking about my personal life, get over here and look over this with me." Anthony grumbled as he took the evidence gathered from the orphanage, bagged them up and marked them appropriately for later investigation.

Steven noticed the 3D scans of the kunai being represented on the screen. "Did you figure out who manufactured them?"

"That's the thing." Anthony tapped his chin, stuck in thought. "These are not commercially sold weapons, nor are they black market dealings either. I cross referenced all such instances of these weapon types among the entire database of recovered evidence in the ZPD vault and turned up with nothing. I even looked into cases involving known weapons dealers that we are keeping tabs on to see what they supply, but that didn't provide anything useful."

"You don't arrest these known illegal sellers?" Ralph was stunned.

Anthony gave an irritated look at the rookie, "Of course not. We at least know where they are and what they are capable of proliferating in Zootopia. We use them to get to the bigger fry that are far more dangerous. You snipe one of them out and the real threats will go further underground and be that much harder to rat out."

"Smart." Steven marveled. That was indeed a very ingenious way of keeping track of all the local thugs and where they get their armament. Only when the purchase history goes outside the expected norm would you go in and investigate the cause, which could lead to the wanted buyer. "So if it isn't either of those two things, where did these come from?" He looked over at the bagged metal blades.

"This looks like a custom job. Made specifically for whoever used this." Anthony replied promptly.

"For the Dark Flame Wolf. Your wife." Ralph stated bluntly.

Anthony growled. "I still refuse to believe that, so lay off."

"But didn't you smell her on that fabric, and your own son said she was-" Ralph began.

"I said lay off!" The wolf snarled, causing Steven and Ralph to draw back and even caused Raina to slowly glance up from her monitor and realize there were others in the room. "She could have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Possibly doing what she said she was going to do and adopt that raccoon or whatever and just got caught in whatever crossfire happened at the orphanage."

"She's the Dark Flame Wolf." Steven insisted. Either Anthony was being incredibly dense, which was probably not the case, or he was struggling to find ways to believe that his wife was not some mass-murdering vigilante. "Why won't you just admit it to yourself that this is reality?"

"I'll be the judge of that!" Anthony barked. Frustrated that things were not shaping up to be a very good day, he just turned back to the screen and stared glumly at the search results. It was clear he was simply shutting down, exhaustion, fatigue and more was getting to him.

Thinking about it a bit more, Steven posed the question, "So, would any of these black market dealers have the capability to make such custom-made orders like this?"

The wolf's eyes lit up with inspiration. "Yeah…a few of them!" He began typing in a few more parameters and a very short list popped up on the screen. "Well, we can rule Mr. Big and his mafia out." He clucked, scrolling through. "Huh…there is this 'Jack' here."

"Jack? Any other names, last names, aliases?" Ralph leaned in further.

"No…just Jack." It was such an odd way of cataloguing this supplier. You'd think whoever inputted it would be a bit more thorough.

"Where is he located?" Steven offered an avenue of searching.

A few key presses later, Anthony tapped the screen. "He's been logged in a few locations throughout Zootopia, but only one I recognize."

"How so? You been there?" Steven was confused. Unless Anthony was part of a sting, he was unclear why the wolf knew one of the places of businesses Jack operated at.

"Because I know the fox who owns the place. AJ." Anthony grit his teeth, almost grinding them with anger. "Didn't the panda at Tail Hollow mention she was kidnapped by a fox?"

Steven's heart sank. He knew AJ. He was the former lover of his mom and the fox who he wanted to be his dad during the time they were dating. It didn't work out and Murana left AJ. It wouldn't make sense nearly a decade later that AJ would come back and kidnap her, let alone destroy the orphanage in the process. Heck, he wasn't even a pirate as was described by Claire! However, he could easily see Anthony working himself up into a fervor that AJ was the culprit responsible for all of this.

"Maybe it wasn't AJ. Maybe it was a different fox?" Steven meeped, trying to placate Anthony's rising anger.

"Let's go. We're paying a visit to the Fox Den." He jabbed a claw at Ralph. "Get yourself a firearm. Where we're going, folks aren't exactly friendly to us cops. Best we be packing to protect ourselves." He gathered up his things and began to clear out his browsing history as he tossed the bagged evidence in the inbox bins for Raina to catalogue later.

"Don't go looking for a fight!" Steven began to breathe heavy again, his lungs contracting in another panic attack at the thought that Anthony might not be able to control himself around AJ.

The wolf paused and regarded the heaving skunk, frantically thrusting his paws into his pockets for his inhaler. "It's probably best you stay behind, Steven. It probably will not be a safe place for you."

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Stinkman." Ralph bowed his head slightly.

He felt incredibly sympathetic to the skunk. If it was true beyond a shadow of a doubt his mom was the Dark Flame Wolf and this so-called AJ had abducted her, things would not end well for anyone. The fact that Steven was a partial accomplice to her dealings seemed to have fallen by the wayside to the greater need of just simply finding Murana instead. It seemed she was the key to all the strange happenings going on right now in Zootopia. Ralph couldn't quite figure out how, but he knew he'd get to the bottom of it.

"Go home and stay safe, Steven." Anthony instructed, the first hint of concern on his face for his son-in-law. "We'll handle it from here. We'll get Murana back."

Steven barely had time to speak out to stop them as he took a second puff on his inhaler, letting the medicine get into his lungs to hold it there before breathing out. Within moments, they were gone, leaving without so much as a trace of their passing. Raina was already reaching out after them, her arm outstretched in an almost comical gesture of trying to delay their exit.

"Wait…Officer…Grayz…Your…request…for…evidence…retrieval…was…denied…by…Chief…Bogo." She called out after them fruitlessly.

* * *

 

_Savannah Central – The Fox Den on Roaring St. – Against the Tundratown Border Wall_   
_Thursday – 5:21 PM – Clear Skies with Scattered Clouds / Gusty Winds_

Steven shivered a bit, taking a small puff of air to calm himself as he peeked around the corner at the squat, brick and mortar building just down the street. Butted up against the imposing barrier wall to the chilly Tundratown district, it certainly gave off an air of imposing menace even though it was a rather small structure. He had never been to the Fox Den before, although he had known AJ for a good while during his time with Murana. He should technically be among friends there, right?

Steeling his nerves, Steven tried to stand up tall as he stepped out from behind the corner. Trying to appear bold, he strode down the sidewalk, acting as if the lounging predators on their apartment steps weren't terrifying the heck out of him with their leering stares. Stifling a cry as one barked loudly in what turned out to be a cough, he picked up the pace and was nearly opposite the entrance to the Fox Den. There was already a line forming for its opening at six.

He yelped, drawing a few looks from the growing line, as a voice behind him hissed, "What are you doing here, Steven?!" Anthony was glaring at him from behind a parked car alongside Ralph.

"W-what are you doing here?" Steven shot back, still recovering from the scare.

Anthony yanked him by the arm to squat next to the two of them behind the car. "We've been casing the joint to see if we could spot AJ. We didn't see him go in, but it is clear they are getting ready to open for business within the hour."

"Why don't we wait in line with everyone?" Steven suggested.

"What?" Anthony stared blankly.

"I don't think the bouncer would let us in." Ralph explained. "We're not exactly on the guest list and this place doesn't look friendly to cops." He looked up over the car at the large lion that was guarding the entrance with a rather stylish set of shades.

"It's alright." Steven patted Anthony on the shoulder, feeling a bit more confident now about the whole situation. "AJ and I are actually great pals."

"Your favored dad?" Anthony spat. He wasn't exceptionally happy that this fox had the favor of Murana at one point and still had the adoration of her son.

"Well, you certainly are doing yourself no favors by being mean and insulting to me." Steven put his hands on his hips, his own eyes bearing down onto Anthony's, who was still kneeling to be at eye level. "If you had just made an attempt, any attempt, at trying to get to know me rather than write me off the moment you met me, things might have turned out different for all of us. Who knows? Murana may not be in whatever situation she's in now if we had just been together as a family!"

Looking at the heaving skunk before him, diminutive, but still very brave, Anthony had no rebuttal to give. The skunk might even be right. "Fine. We'll do it your way. Let's get to the back of the line and when we get to the door, you get us in. If that doesn't work, things might get…ugly."

"Let's hope they don't." Ralph murmured, drawing a nod of agreement from Steven.

Acting casual, they circled the block again and wound up back at the Fox Den. Not exactly looking like the other patrons of the establishment, they did stand out like a sore thumb. A few mammals gave them some cursory glances, but most were more interested in getting into the club and raving the night away. The doors opened and the bodies started filing in, some being turned away by the bouncer, but more getting in without a hitch.

"Hold it, squirt!" The lion held out a paw, big enough to crush Steven's skull in it. "Where do you and your friends think you're going?"

"Inside?" Steven said meekly, his faith in the plan faltering.

"Nope, take a hike." The bouncer growled, jabbing a finger to hit the road.

"Look, can you tell AJ that Steven Stinkman is here with him?" Steven blurted, trying to stall the inevitable.

The lion tipped the shades down to look at the small skunk a bit more directly. "You know AJ?" After a nod. "One moment please." He brought out a walkie talkie and spoke into it, "Hey AJ, we got a skunk out here saying he knows you. Goes by Stinkman."

A surprisingly deep voice for a fox boomed through the mic, "Oh, wow! Yeah, of course. Hold him right there, I'm coming right up!"

The lion clicked off and saddled the device back into its holster on his hip. "You three stand over to the side here while I let the rest of the line through." He roughly pulled them aside while resuming his duty as door guard.

After a few minutes, a rather large fox with a muscular build came out. His trademark brown fur markings identified him to Steven unmistakably. His happy demeanor faltered a bit when he saw Anthony and Ralph, but he cheered up some when he saw Steven. Rushing forward to pick the skunk up in a bear hug, he nuzzled into Steven's neck.

"Stinkbug! How you been, buddy?!" He laughed as he squeezed the skunk.

"Fine!" Steven squeaked, gasping for air.

"So what brings you here to my humble place of business?" He chuckled jovially as he set the skunk back down.

"We're actually looking for Murana. I believe you know her?" Anthony jumped in, doing his best to suppress a growl. He couldn't believe this fox had it good with his wife before they got married. There didn't seem to be anything special about him.

AJ's expression turned cold as he regarded the wolf and wildebeest. "Who's your friends?"

"This is my 'dad.' Murana's husband." Steven clarified. He motioned over to Ralph, "And a friend who is helping us find her. She went missing about a day ago and no one has seen her or been able to contact her since."

"So why come to me? What makes you think I know where she is?" AJ hadn't taken his eyes off Anthony since discovering he was Murana's current husband.

"How about we come in, get comfortable and we can talk all about it?" Steven moved to diffuse the situation. It seemed all he was trying to do today was resolve problems and hold people back from doing something worse. "It's been a long time and I'd love to catch up with on how you've been doing!" He added sincerely.

Distracted from his gaze on Anthony, AJ turned to look at the skunk before motioning them to come in. "Of course, come in and we'll get ourselves a drink." After one last glower at the wolf, AJ slipped into the darkness of the mood-lit club.

Steven and the rest followed suit, bypassing the gruff lion, giving them a watchful eye as they entered. Inside the club, things were already starting to get heated. The heavy bass was reverberating off the walls and shaking their very bones at the sick beat that was blaring out of the multitude of speakers at the far end of the dance floor up by the DJ, a rather eccentric-looking leopard with extreme amounts of bling adorning his ears and neck.

AJ pointed towards a side booth at the edge of the wall near the end of a row of circular booths with covering sheets to prevent onlookers from seeing what went on at the tables. Steven scooted in around to the back of the table while Anthony and Ralph squeezed in as much as they could. It was very loud, and they could barely hear each other speak, but it was still a far cry better than out on the main floor despite having to shout.

At length, AJ came back with four drinks expertly positioned between his fingers. Setting them down and pushing them off to their recipients, he lounged down opposite Ralph, sitting close to Steven. "So, Stinkbug, what you been up to these days? How is the old girl doing?" He smiled as he took a good chug of his liquor.

"You mean Mom? She's…not been well as of late. Last time I saw her, she and I got into a bit of a fight." Steven looked down at his untouched drink in shame. He had a small ball of anxiety in the pit of his stomach that made him believe he was at fault for her disappearance.

AJ's ears fell. Placing a paw on the skunk's shoulder and squeezing it slightly, he consoled, "I'm sure she'll turn up soon. You know how she is." He gave Steven a small wink where Ralph and Anthony would not be privy to. "I'd say give her another few days to turn up, and if she doesn't turn up by then, I'd go call the cops to put out an alert." He chortled. "Besides, I just realized, you're an adult now! Got any ladies in your life yet? Gotten laid yet?" He elbowed Steven in the ribs at this.

"No! I've had enough today! In fact, I've had enough females for a month!" Steven yelled, not wanting to be ensnared yet again in the coils of another girl after his goods.

Giving a low whistle, AJ gave a small slap to Steven's back. "You sly skunk! And here I thought you were the innocent flower! Well, if commitment isn't quite your thing, I have a few lovely pred ladies I can introduce you to who are all action and no chain. Just say the word, little buddy!"

"N-no…I'll be fine." Steven declined meekly.

AJ took a swig of his drink being leaning in closer to the skunk, "You sure? Because I have it on good authority that some of them are exquisitely skilled with their toes." He winked knowingly.

"…I'm listening." Steven said with rising interest.

"What? Are you doing prostitution on the side here too alongside kidnapping, AJ?" Anthony accused, putting his entire arm in front of Steven's face and gently pushing him back.

"Excuse me?" The hairs on AJ's neck were ruffled. "I'll have you know that I run a reputable establishment here and I do not have sex for hire on the menu, let alone kidnapping. I'm insulted. What business is it of yours what two consenting adults do anyway in the privacy of my booths or rooms? What are you, cops?" He said in jest, his laidback mood returning.

"Actually, we are." Ralph spoke, right before Anthony clapped a paw over his mouth to shut him up. Even Steven winced as the fact was revealed. Either not realizing or caring about what he said, the gnu took a huge sip of his drink after sniffing it a few times.

AJ's disposition soured immediately. "Oh…that is a pity. Well, I hate to disappoint you three, especially you, Steven, but I don't know where she is, and frankly I'd wager she is in a far safer place now than with you." He took another swig of his drink, keeping a close eye on the wolf.

Anthony slammed a fist onto the table, causing Steven to jump and a tiger bodyguard nearby to take notice and start inching closer. "Look, fox." This drew an instinctual flick of AJ's ear. "We found some discarded weapons at the scene of a crime where Murana was last seen by eyewitness accounts. Weapons that were tracked to one mammal named: 'Jack.' One of his storehouses has been marked to be here, at your club. Either you tell us about this Jack or you will be arrested as an accomplice in the kidnapping of Murana Wolford."

"That is quite the allegation." AJ seemed relaxed now, slowly drinking the remainder of his booze. Setting the mug softly down to the table, the silence between them was thick, even though music was pounding through their skulls. "Think you got it all figured out, do you? If you were fully certain I was the criminal here and somehow Murana is here with this 'Jack' character, I would have thought you'd call for backup. Wouldn't this be a sting? Why is it just you two? Steven, why have you thrown your lot in with these fools?"

"AJ…please don't. I'm just here to find Mom." Steven pleaded.

AJ summarily ignored him as he leaned forward on the table. "Here's my thought…Mr. Wolford." He sneered as he said the wolf's proper title. "I'm thinking you aren't really supposed to be here and are doing this off the books for reasons that might get you or your wife in trouble. Am I right? In which case, it would be well within my rights to throw you off my property since you do not have a warrant to be here, but not without beating up on you since I did not see your badges and I mistook you for common trespassers."

"Are you actually threatening a cop?" Ralph balked, the gall of this fox astounding him.

"I'm threatening two idiots who have no business or legal right to be here, disrupting my place of work for a case I'd wager is something they also have no business sticking their noses into!" AJ finished with a satisfied smirk.

Anthony growled, "My wife's missing and her life could be on the line!"

"Doesn't seem like you're a good husband if you can't keep track of your own wife." AJ just could not contain his mirth at aggravating the wolf.

"At least she's mine and not yours!" Anthony roared, gathering the attention of another bouncer.

"Funny, if you were that good a husband, I wonder why she crawled back to me this Tuesday for some fun? Guess she knew who the better lover was." AJ gave a meaningful look.

That teared it. Steven dove for the seat as Anthony surged across the table and began choking AJ. Ralph brayed angrily as he stood, shocked at his colleague completely losing his cool and harming a civilian. On one hand, the fox certainly deserved the ass-whupping and his prejudice against foxes was helping that notion, but he was also a fellow cop and shouldn't be acting this way.

The decision was suddenly made for him when he felt two rough hands grapple him from behind and literally lift him off the floor and fling him to the dance room floor. Steven screamed as Anthony was forcibly torn from AJ and slammed to the floor by a rather large buffalo. AJ hacked and coughed a few times, rubbing his tender neck at the brutal strangling.

"AJ, stop! Just let them go! We'll just leave peaceably!" Steven parleyed.

"Do you even like your Dad?" Anthony fired back, getting up out of the booth. "He seems like kind of an asshole."

"No, well…yeah, not entirely!" Steven was struggling to find the right words.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we have a little fun with them then!" He whooped as he bounded up to the DJ turnstiles, taking the headphones from the leopard as he spoke into the microphone, his voice echoing throughout the club. "Who here wants to see a good fight?" The dancing crowd roared back in unison, some completely high out of their minds by now. "Mosh pit in the center! Battle music coming right up! Have at it!" He barked happily.

Jarring techno music flashed through the room as the crowd was worked up to pandemonium. Anthony and Ralph were pushed back by the bouncers into the center of the dance floor, each being jostled and rammed by mammals too drunk or gone to even care who they were. Ralph ducked under a punch, sidestepping a lunge before thrusting an elbow into the back of a cheetah, pounding him to the floor with the force of the blow. Anthony was faring little better, being besieged by both the buffalo and tiger.

"This wasn't exactly what I signed up for when I came to join you!" Ralph admitted, getting punched in the jaw and winding up on the floor. He had to roll to the side as he narrowly avoided a few hooves coming to crush his head from various dancing revelers.

"Just work your way to the exit! This is a bust! We need to-" Anthony was cut off as the buffalo barreled into him horns first, lifting him up and over him. Flying through the air, the crowd parted for his descent, cheering as he crumpled to the ground with a crunch. They all swooped in on him like savages and began pounding and beating on his body.

Steven saw Ralph disappear into the crowd as the bouncers worked their way through the blitzed dancers to finish the job. He knew he needed to stop this madness now. Surely AJ would listen to some reason and their previous relationship should amount to something! Darting past several drunks tripping over themselves in their stupor, he leapt up to the podium and tugged on AJ's sleeve.

Distracted, he looked down at Steven, "What is it, Stinkbug? Enjoying the show? Murana would have loved it!"

"No! I'm not! Please stop this! You can't kill them!" He tugged harder.

AJ sighed, putting the headphones around his neck, "Look, Steven. I like you, but our past friendship will only take you so far. I love you like a son just like Murana does, but this isn't your affair. Relax, I don't want cop blood on my hands anyhow, not good for business, you know. I'll be sure to stop it before it gets out of hand." Satisfied with this answer, AJ put back on the headphones and swapped up tunes to match the ensuing battle.

Steven frantically looked back to the dance floor and saw Anthony and Ralph with various cuts and bleeding lesions. Ralph looked like he was holding a broken arm, cringing hard as he tried to hold it tight against his side. They may not die tonight, but they'd certainly be hospitalized before it was all over.

Seeing as AJ was no help, Steven began scurrying around the club. He ducked into side hallways, sniffing around the private rooms, trying to figure out if there was something he could use to stop the insanity. Then suddenly, he smelled her. It was as clear as the night he earned his freedom at the musk mill. The smell of his Mom, Murana.

Getting low to the ground, it was still hard to decipher out her smell from the menagerie of scents permeating the entire place. The roar of the crowd grew fierce as it seemed something bad had happened out there. Heart pounding faster, he continued to track the scent until it landed him back into the club floor proper. The pulsating lights were flashing faster as it seemed the din was building to a crescendo, the floor rumbling with hoofs and paws stomping.

The smell was the strongest just behind the bar counter. Steven couldn't mistake her scent. It was partly his as well, given how long he had been with her and how many times she sprayed herself with his musk. The bartender was completely oblivious and was focused too much on the fight. Unfurling the standing mat, he saw a trap door in the floor. Curious, he opened it up and descended down the ladder into the darkness.

The dark tunnel opened up into a calcified cavern with a ship moored to a makeshift dock bordering a shack. Instantly, Steven knew this was the place. This was where this 'Jack' character was hiding out. Was Anthony right? Was Jack or AJ responsible for kidnapping Murana? He didn't know what to believe at this point. He just wanted Mom back.

He was sniffing around the boat emblazoned with the name, Foxglove III, when a calm voice caused his to shriek, a little musk escaping from him as he whipped around to see a white fox in a bowler cap regarding him with extreme interest. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Are…are you Jack?" Steven asked nervously, backing up until his tail thumped against the ship siding.

Raising an eyebrow, the fox smiled a toothy grin. "I guess you could call that my callsign. My name is actually Billy Silva. And who might you be, little skunk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a very fun chapter to write. With the three 'investigators' tracking down Murana's trail, I wanted to ensure that each player had a part in helping with the case. Ralph brought them to the orphanage. Anthony pinpointed a potential lead at AJ's club. Steven was the glue that held the tenuous relationship together and helped get them into the club proper. Each character had a role and made them uniquely important during this chapter, something I wanted to emphasize. The first third was interesting and the hardest to pin down how exactly they were going to get from the orphanage to the club with AJ. Once I figured out there would be pieces left behind by Murana, either purposefully or not, it was an easy matter of sifting in a middle section at the ZPD that I could use to expand upon the relationship between Anthony and Steven with regard to Murana. It was fun to revisit AJ again, but in a far different capacity than before. Gone is the friendly fox we met in Day 2 with Murana and we now get to see another side to him we weren't privy to before. It's always good to add extra, unexpected layers to characters to flesh them out as fully 3-dimensional people. I was unsure of where to cut the chapter, seeing as the entire scene wasn't fully done yet, but since it was getting a bit long, I felt it right to stop right when Steven met Billy - another meeting of supposed chance that could possibly be important later.


	13. Thursday - Scents of the Past - The Fourth Evening

_Savannah Central – The Fox Den on Roaring St. – Against the Tundratown Border Wall_   
_Thursday – 6:23 PM – Clear Skies with Scattered Clouds / Gusty Winds_

Steven was terrified. Even though he wasn't fond of Anthony, his own father-in-law was getting pummeled upstairs alongside his colleague, Ralph, and he was alone with this mysterious fox who was supposedly involved in some shady business, to including a potential kidnapping of his Mom. The fact he was trapped wasn't helping matters. The only way back out was either right past the fox before him or into the river, which he was not sure how far it was before the next bit of landing.

"You all right? I asked you what your name was." Billy repeated, looking concerned for the little skunk.

"Stinkman…S-Steven Stinkman." He responded without thinking. His eyes were darting around the place, hoping there was some other form of escape that didn't involve getting near this criminal or drowning in the water.

"It is very nice to meet you. Might I ask who you are with? It's not every day I get a visitor down here quite like you. How did you find me?" Billy pressed. It was clear that he was moving closer and into a position where it would be near impossible to get around him without coming into contact. Steven was being cornered.

"I'm with my…Dad, Anthony. We're looking for my Mom here." In his panic, Steven was just spilling out anything without a thought to what he was actually revealing. His breathing was rapidly increasing, and he would soon hyperventilate if he didn't use his medicine soon.

"Your…Mom?" A curious look crossed over Billy's face. It was as if he was making a few connections of his own. "Does your mom…happen to be a wolf?"

Steven's eyes snapped back to Billy. "Why…why do you ask?" He inadvertently pulled the small, scent can of putrid, musk out of his pocket, finger ready on the trigger to spray.

Billy's eyes grew wide as he got excited at the prospect of finally meeting the creator of the musk Murana supplied him. In his fervor, he had completely forgotten his manners, his eyes locking onto the small weapon in Steven's paws. "That canister of yours," He said pointing, "Might I borrow that for a few?"

"Excuse me?" Steven stood aghast, his paws clutching at his precious scent. Swirling thoughts of being in the musk mill all over again dominated his mind. Fear gripped him as he saw before him nothing more than yet another mammal wanting him for his musk. "No! Get away from me!"

Eyes bulging as Steven made a dash between the fox's legs, Billy reached out to grab the skunk, narrowly snagging his tail by a small margin. "Stop! I'm not trying to hurt you! I just want to talk! I think we can help each-" He groaned as Steven quickly rolled onto his back underneath him and kick upwards into his groin, causing daggers of pain to knife up into his loins.

"You're just trying to use me! Just like everyone else!" Steven's fight or flight response was paramount.

He scrambled out from under Billy, his paws slipping on his scent can. It clattered out of view behind a workbench. Cursing that he lost his only protection, he skittered over to the shack and began fumbling around underneath the table trying in vain to find where his can went to. It was becoming harder to breathe and he knew he needed his inhaler soon, but he didn't feel like he had time to take a pause to inhale a puff. The growl of Billy just beyond the doorway sent shockwaves of terror through him. The fox was sure to come kill him now that he was injured!

"Steven!" Billy roared, staggering up to a standing position, his legs wobbly from the blow to his nether regions. "Look, I'm trying to help you! Just calm down and we can work things out! There's been a misunderstanding!"

"The only misunderstanding is that it was wrong of me to come here!" Steven freaked, finally finding something that looked like a bomb perched perfectly on a rack nearby several other weapons of similar build to the ones Anthony had found in Tail Hollow. Grabbing it and holding the bomb aloft, he stepped out into view. "Stay back! I'm not afraid to use this!"

Billy put both his paws out to ward off Steven's ire, "Whoa…now just hold on there. You don't know what you're dealing with here. That is a very potent stink bomb. It'll knock the two of us out and probably everyone else above. I'd advise you to very carefully put that down."

Steven looked at the device a bit more cautiously, but refused to bring it down. "Thanks for the warning. Maybe this is exactly what I need! Now stay back and let me leave. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

Billy found it odd that even now, the skunk was apologizing for his behavior when it was evident he was scared out of his wits. He needed to find some way to pacify this skunk before it got out of hand. "Let's make a deal, you hand me that and I'll help you find your scent can and we can both come to a mutual agreement about what to do next, alright? After all, it was you who came barging into my home here, so I'd say that is fair."

Steven hesitated at this. Other than AJ, he hadn't had many good experiences with foxes before, and now that his one good fox friend was allowing a full-on beatdown of his only parental figure available, he wasn't sure of any of them. The prejudice against foxes ran deep in Zootopia and this situation warranted nothing less than caution. Billy was saying soothing words, but to Steven, there was nothing that proved otherwise that he wouldn't stab him in the back when he first got the chance.

Seeing that Steven was about to shake his head in defiance, Billy made a command decision to bum rush the little skunk and make a grab for the bomb. Steven shrieked as he fell backwards, his rump pointing high into the air with tail rigid. Billy knew the telltale signs of danger too late as he tripped over the skunk's tail as it jerked out beneath him during the fall and flew face forward between Steven's legs.

"Wait…no!" Billy yelled.

It was too late, the terror took over and pants on or not, Steven let loose. His scent glands tightened as his spray seeped through his shorts. The silver fox got a face full of it that made him retch, his eyes rolling up into his head before flopping over and passing out. Embarrassed that he soiled himself and nose cringing at his own stench, Steven shakily backed off from the comatose fox. Quickly snatching the stink bomb that had rolled out of his paws a short distance, he tore up the rocky steps into the dark gloom leading back to the club in hopes he was not too late.

The pounding of the music was reaching a fever pitch as AJ rocked the DJ stand with a freshly made remix of his own, concocted on the spot for the ensuing scuffle. The sight of Ralph and Anthony was all but gone now. Steven could only imagine their bodies mangled and bloodied by the mile of mammals now congregated in one part of the dance floor, bouncing and stomping like the crazed animals they were.

Scampering along the edges of the dangerous rave pit of doped out mammals, Steven nearly squealed when a rhino slammed up against the wall in front of him, nearly crushing him. The rhino slumped over with a thud and was out cold, tongue lolling out in a state of drugged up bliss. Trying to breathe in deeply, Steven could barely get in any air as his lungs ceased up. He needed his inhaler badly, but Ralph and Anthony needed him more. He needed to get to AJ now!

"AJ! Stop the music. Tell them to leave my Dad and Grayz alone!" Steven shouted right next to the fox, hoping he'd hear him over the din.

AJ's ears were as sharp as ever. Without even looking at the skunk, "Oh, so now you're buddy-buddy with asshole down there? I'll stop after this song. I promise."

"No, you will stop right now!" Steven screamed, thrusting up the bomb into the air above his head. "I'm not afraid to use this!"

Instantly recognizing the weapon for what it was, he tried to make a snatch for it. "Hey, Stinkbug! That isn't funny! Give that here before someone gets hurt!"

"The only ones getting hurt are my friends down there!" He jabbed a finger in the direction of where he thought the bodies of Anthony and Ralph lay.

"I will stop once you give me that." AJ made another lunge.

"I won't stop until…" Steven couldn't hold on any longer, his anxiety caught up to him.

His lungs couldn't draw in anymore air. His eyelids drooped as he went limp. AJ killed the music and yelled for the crowd to disperse as the bomb slipped from Steven's grip and hit the ground. Everything moved in slow motion. Steven was barely aware of the noxious gas diffusing through the club as his body crumbled to the floor. Nothing registered as he lay there on the ground, his eyes glossing over the multitude of bodies dropping like flies.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was one final thought, "Mom, I hope you are safe. I love you."

* * *

_Savannah Central – The Fox Den on Roaring St. – Against the Tundratown Border Wall_   
_Thursday – 9:51 PM – Overcast / Light Drizzle_

Steven wasn't sure if it was the sudden, loud clang heard from outside the cabin or the rocking of the boat that woke him up. His eyes flew open. He wasn't sure what happened or how he got here. He was in a small room that appeared to be inside of a schooner, complete with rectangular port holes that looked out onto the deck. The undulating light filtering in through the glass indicated he was still underground and most likely on the boat he saw earlier when he met Billy. Was that all a dream?

Groaning, fighting back a piercing headache, he sat up and surveyed his situation. He looked down and saw he was no longer wearing the clothes he came here with, but rather a loose fitting set of cargo shorts and t-shirt with a gaudy clothes fashion line logo. The thought that someone had changed him while he was out hit him like a shot as he squeaked and backed up into a sleeping body next to him that he hadn't realized was there.

"Hmmm?" The large mass mumbled, shifting over, still half asleep.

Frightened, Steven shied away from the large figure sharing the bed space, but his eyes immediately melted in relief as he recognized the wolf beside him. "Mom!" He cried out with joy and hopped onto her, giving her smothering kisses and breathing in her scent deeply, finally at peace that he had found her at last.

"Aaah!" Murana shrieked as she flung the tiny skunk off of her. She brought the covers up to her chest as she scooted back to the far end of the bed, her terrified eyes locked onto Steven. "Who are you?! What do you want?! Leave me alone!" She cried out in a voice that was quite unlike her. As if she was attempting to be younger than she was.

Steven was confused. "Mom? It's me, your son, Steven. Don't you remember me? I've been looking for you all day!"

"I don't know you! I don't have a family! They all died!" She began shaking her head violently, trying to erase the memories that were flooding back again.

"Hey, it's alright! It's just me, Billy. Steven here is a friend!" The silver fox came hurtling in from the left down the stairwell from the above deck. Steven jolted back at the sight of him, but held still as he could see that the fox was visibly calming Murana down. "You are safe here. No one is going to harm you."

"You sure?" Murana looked pleadingly up at the fox leaning over her, a paw on each of her shoulders.

He nodded affirmatively, "I'm sure. Just lay back down and get some rest. We're just discussing where to go next to keep you safe. Steven here," He motioned over towards the skunk, "Is here to help find a place for you to stay."

"Alright. Thank you, Billy." Murana fussed, trying to get back into a comfortable position to sleep, but it was clear she'd probably not be resting again anytime soon.

"If you'll come with me." Billy said firmly, beckoning Steven with a paw to follow him up top.

Nervously, Steven trailed after the fox and peeked his head out of the opening leading to the bow of the ship. He could see Billy standing beside AJ, who was sitting next to an injured Ralph, helping him treat his wounds. Anthony was opposite them on the starboard side, angrily glaring at AJ and preferring to treat himself alone. The two foxes were talking in hushed tones with Ralph keenly listening in.

At length, Billy turned around to address Steven, "I apologize for earlier. I did not mean to frighten you. I felt it best to redress you in some fresh clean clothes I had and lay you beside your mother when you awoke to help calm your panic. Knowing that she was safe, I figured you'd be more amicable to hearing out what I had to say."

"That's…very considerate of you." After a few moments thought, Steven pointed at AJ. "Hey! You lied to me! You acted as if you didn't know where Mom was and she was sleeping here this whole time!"

AJ put his hands up to defend himself. It looked like he was about to retort, but Billy stepped in and interjected. "He was just doing his part in making sure she was safe. I wouldn't expect him to trust some random wolf and wildebeest with her whereabouts, even if they were traveling with her son, Steven. I can explain the situation, if I may?"

"By all means, do explain why Grayz and I had to get beaten up just to find out my wife was here all along." Anthony growled, his teeth bared, all sense of etiquette gone. He turned back to licking his wounds as he listened.

"It started a very long time ago. Murana has been an old client of mine. I don't like to divulge my business with others and I prefer a code of secrecy with my dealings, however in this instance, I am willing to make an exception since Murana is very dear to you both." Billy's eyes traveled from Anthony to Steven. "She and I met during a mutual…shall we say, transaction and we realized that we saw eye to eye on a lot of things. So we started a partnership then. She keeps the worst criminals off the streets and provides me funds, and I get her the very best gear for her job."

"And you've known she was the Dark Flame Wolf this entire time?" Anthony asked Steven with apparent shock.

Scratching the backside of his neck, Steven responded, "Well…yeah. I've known the moment I met her. Not sure if she told you, but she rescued me from a musk mill where they used me only for my scent."

"That's disgusting." Anthony wrinkled his snout. "Why would anyone want essence of skunk? That stuff is terrible."

Billy twitched his nose, memories of being face first into a full-on skunk spray coming back to him. "Well, it isn't so bad." At an odd look from Steven, Billy coughed and continued, "Despite the abhorrent nature of the spray, it does have a lot of weaponized uses and sells for a high price on the black market. Murana herself was using the stuff and came to me often with bottles of it to develop and create weapons for her."

"Did you know she was using your musk like this?" Ralph was curious.

Feeling a bit self-conscious with all their eyes looking at him, Steven turned away as he sheepishly admitted, "Yeah…I mean, I knew she was going after the really bad mammals for a long time and she requested a long time ago if she could use what I have to help assist in stopping them."

"And you were okay with her killing everyone in the process?" Ralph's voice grew stern.

"What? No! I only found out recently that she was not really arresting them or helping them go to jail, but instead just burning them alive. If I had known she was doing that, I wouldn't have helped her at all." He said, with some indignity.

"You mean this whole time, you didn't make the connection between the burned victims all these years and what your Mom was doing?" Ralph grilled, leaning forward now.

"Lay off the boy!" Anthony snapped.

"No, it's alright." Steven put a paw up. "It's a very good question. I honestly didn't follow any murder cases since I don't do well with such things. I preferred instead to cover happier and less dangerous stories for ZNN. I just passed off any information I got on bad people to Murana and just left her to do her thing."

"Blissful ignorance, basically." Billy supported Steven in his innocence.

"Where did you get this information? Who was your informant?" Ralph was insistent.

"I think we're going off the rails here." Billy stepped between them. "Point is, she was my client and I do everything in my power to take care of my customers. So when we discovered her lost and wandering the tunnels just inside the barrier wall linking us to Sahara Square, I knew we needed to bring her in and care for her."

"When did you find her?" Anthony asked, genuine worry etched onto his muzzle.

"I found her in the early hours of the morning after my club closed." AJ offered, hopping into the conversation for the first time. "I had just locked up the place and was heading home in my car when I saw her on the side of the tunnel, completely delirious and acting as if I wasn't even there. So, of course I had to bring her back here since she'd be the safest with Billy."

"What happened to her?" Steven looked back down the steps to the sleeping form of Murana.

Billy shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. She was wearing the suit I made for her, but it was completely shredded." He walked around the primary housing cabin and pulled something out of a chest along the side before tossing it on the deck before them. It was a crimson suit very reminiscent of what the Dark Flame Wolf wore. "I'm actually quite upset that it ended up in this condition. I spent a lot of time on it. I personally would like to know who did this to her."

"What's wrong with her? It's like she didn't know who I was." Steven whined. He wanted nothing more than to snuggle up under the covers with her right now and sniff her paws until he fell asleep alongside her.

"That's the funny thing." Billy huffed. "She didn't recognize me or AJ either and I doubt she'd remember either of you." He nodded his head towards Anthony and Ralph.

"Well, technically we've not formally met." Ralph pointed out.

"Regardless, the last time I saw her was Tuesday, not even two days ago. Whatever happened yesterday must have shocked her so bad that she's regressed to the mind of a child." Billy explained, pacing back and forth on the deck.

"What do you mean?" Anthony asked warily.

"What I mean is: she is going through some form of PTSD that was triggered by some memory or experience in her past. It was so traumatic that she's reverting back to coping techniques that saw her through those awful times." He stopped and turned towards Anthony. "She most likely doesn't remember any of us because we weren't there when whatever event happened to cause her to be like this. To her, we're all strangers that could harm her."

"Trust me, I tried to get her to remember who I was and what we meant to each other." AJ offered, which elicited a low growl from Anthony. AJ extended a paw for understanding, "Look, we have a good history together and I was hoping some of that would be remembered. Apparently none of it was." He looked down in regret.

"Murana means a lot to all of us…" Billy gave a sidelong glance to Ralph, "Well, most of us anyway. We all want to see her safely home. To that end, I want your promise that you'll keep my client safe if I give her to you to take home." Billy's voice was soft, but the promise of threat was clear if not followed.

"Of course. I won't be leaving her side at all tonight!" Steven proclaimed, puffing out his chest. All he wanted was to protect his Mom.

"What about all the murders she's done?" Ralph probed.

"Now's not the time!" Anthony snarled, all eyes giving the wildebeest scathing glares.

"She's in no condition to answer to any of that, and besides, I'd have to stop you if you were to arrest her now." Billy warned.

"And you're not in any condition to win that fight." AJ chimed in, looking dangerous and foreboding as his face was like stone, belying nothing of his true intent.

"Speaking of which, why shouldn't we just arrest you both for assaulting two police officers and harboring a known criminal and dealing with black-market selling of dangerous weapons and chemicals?" Ralph accused, thrusting a hoof at both AJ and Billy, standing up himself to look down on the foxes.

"Because you came barging into our place of business without proper clearance and sans warrant on a case AJ tells me he is positive you weren't even supposed to be a part of, thus violating a lot of regulations within your department at the ZPD." Billy chuckled, crossing his arms as he smugly looked at the two cops. "If anything, you'd get in far more trouble than we would. Without much legitimate proof to tie us to any wrongdoing, we'd get nothing more than a slap on the wrist after a few days in jail and sent home with a warning. You have no power here right now. If you still want to pursue this course of action, by all means, go secure a warrant and we can talk more seriously about this matter."

"We managed to track you down just fine using what we found." Ralph snorted.

"On pure dumb luck. Nothing that can concretely tie us to anything you are accusing us of." Billy said with finality.

"Hey, I just want to go home! I just want to take care of Mom!" Steven shouted, standing up on the side bench built into the boat. All eyes turned to him. "Look, I get that my Mom has done bad things, but she's also done a lot of good as well. She saved me and a lot of other mammals from certain death or captivity for the rest of their lives. She's protecting innocents while punishing the guilty. More so than that, she took me in when no one else would have me. I owe her my life. I just want to see her safely home. We can sort all this other nonsense out later."

"Well said, Stinkbug!" AJ whooped, feeling proud of his little skunk friend.

"Why is everyone shouting?" A soft voice emanated from the doorway leading into the cabin hold below.

Everyone focused on Murana, who was wearing a rather tight shirt and set of shorts, clearly meant for a smaller mammal. Ralph had to look away to maintain a sense of propriety. Although taller than half the people present, dwarfed only by Ralph and Anthony, she appeared to be very meek and timid. She was hunched over, clutching the doorframe tightly as she fearfully gazed upon each one of them, tail tucked between her legs. This was not the bold, confident Murana they remembered.

Billy immediately swooped to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist as he led her towards the edge of the group. "It's alright, honey. We're just deciding where you're going to stay tonight. It's not entirely safe here and we need to move you or else the bad guys will come find you."

"The bad guys?" Anthony's brow furrowed, his need to protect his wife burning fiercely.

The silver fox shook his head curtly, make a signal at the neck to knock off that line of questioning right now. "This nice wolf and skunk will be escorting you to your new home."

"I'm being adopted?" Murana's ears perked up, a look of hope glistening in her eyes.

After looking around the confused group, Billy had to play along, "Yes…yes, you could say that. They'll be your temporary family for now. They've agreed to make sure you are safe and loved."

"You're talking to her like a child." Anthony hissed, trying not to draw too much attention to his vexation at how this fox was treating his wife.

"That's because she is…right now." Billy asserted more firmly, giving Murana's shoulders another squeeze.

A sudden buzzing shook everyone. "Oh, sorry about that!" Ralph excused himself, digging into his pocket before pulling out a phone. "It's my wife texting me." He took one look at the message and his face blanched. "Um…I'm going…to have to go to the hospital now. Some nurse named Grisele has been trying to contact me for the last few hours. My wife collapsed and is admitted into the hospital. I'm not sure where my son is right now."

"All the better!" Billy said cheerfully. "Best place to get your wounds tended to." He gritted his teeth at their severity, amazed that both Anthony and Ralph were putting on a brave face over them. "Seriously, I apologize for my colleague's actions back in the club. He was meaning well to protect both myself and Murana. He hasn't had many good encounters with law enforcement in the past. It's made him a bit jumpy."

"I'll be fine." Anthony muttered, maneuvering his arm a bit, hearing some satisfying pops. "I just want to take my wife home and get this stench off of me." He curled his snout at the lingering musk hanging over all of them.

"But we only came in one cruiser and I have to get to the hospital." Ralph pointed out.

AJ rose his paw, "I can take grass grazer over here to his wife in my car. No big deal."

"You sure? I thought you hated us cops?" Anthony retorted.

"Hey, I know you think I'm an asshole, but I'm not heartless. Consider it me trying to make it up to you guys, alright?" AJ waved him off with a paw, gathering his things in preparation to leave. "Come on, buddy." He tapped Ralph on the arm, "Follow me, we'll get you to your wife and kid."

"Thank you again." Ralph looked over at Anthony and Steven. "I'm sorry I have to leave you two now, but I need to attend to my family."

"Of course, do what you need to do. I need to attend to mine." Anthony smiled, nodding as Ralph got up onto his two hooves, limping as he followed AJ.

The buff fox stopped within millimeters of Anthony. Leaning close so only he could hear, AJ whispered, "Just so you know, I care about Murana. A lot. You take her home. You keep her safe. If you hurt her in any way, I will find out and I guarantee you won't be walking this one off when I'm finished with you."

Without waiting for a response, AJ marched off down the plank to the pier below and both him and Ralph receded into the darkness leading back up into the club. Wrapping a fresh quilt over Murana as he felt her shiver, Billy regarded the others.

"Alright, I'm entrusting the safety of my client back into your hands. Even though I just met you both for the first time tonight, I have a feeling you'll do right by her." He gave a piercing look to Steven, "And to you, little one, I apologize for my behavior earlier. I was just very excited to finally meet the creator of the musk that I've smelled for so long."

"Uh…thanks." Steven didn't really know how to take that sort of compliment.

"And Officer Wolford?" Billy caught the wolf's eyes and held them. "You did not see me here, correct?"

Anthony could gather what the fox was getting at. "Yeah, yeah. We were never here. Don't worry, there will be no cops showing up to your yacht here." His tone softened as he admitted, "Thanks again…for taking care of Murana."

"My pleasure." Billy beamed, tipping his bowler cap in return and gently moving Murana into their arms. "It's alright, honey. You'll be safe."

Anthony wasn't sure what Billy had to do to keep Murana calm in her current state or to even gain her trust in the first place. All he could observe was her backward glances as they slowly walked her out until they couldn't see Billy or the boat anymore.

* * *

_Savannah Central – The Red Lion Apartment Suites – Forest Penthouse Suite – Den 23A_   
_Thursday – 11:28 PM – Overcast / Steady Rain_

"And this…is your home!" Anthony said with gusto, turning the key in the knob and swinging the door open wide to reveal the grandiose apartment beyond, complete with grass flooring that seemed too good to be true.

Murana's mouth dropped open in shock as she looked wide-eyed all around her, clearly not recognizing any of it. "This is where you live?"

"This is where  _you_  live." Steven corrected.

Murana held a paw to her breast, taking a few steps back. "No…no, this is all wrong. I don't own this. I don't deserve this. I'm a nothing, a nobody! I can't have this!"

"Shhh, it's okay! You can have it now." Anthony cradled her in his arms as she bumped up into him trying to escape back out into the hallway.

"It's about time you showed up, Murana! I've been waiting all day for your sorry ass!" a sassy voice boomed from the hole in the wall. Out popped a mongoose with nothing more than a single one-piece nightie on. She looked rather furious and intent on giving Murana a piece of her mind.

"Zoey, now is not the time." Steven advised, trying to give her a meaningful look so that she'd follow suit.

"No, I think this is the perfect time! She gets all upset at the truth of her mistakes and actions, leaves in a fuss and then disappears for two days, worrying her friends and family sick? That is not what a responsible adult does! She needs to own up to her-" Zoey was heated and it seemed like she wasn't going to stop until Steven grabbed her by the arm and nearly yanked her off to the side. "Hey! What are you doing that for?!"

"Steven, please see to our neighbor. I'm going to get Murana comfortable for bed." Anthony rolled his eyes as he ushered her towards the bedroom.

Steven could hear his mom's confusion, "Anthony, who was that? I don't understand. Why is she so angry at me?"

Steven turned back as the door closed. "Zoey, look, now is not a good time to be discussing family squabbles. Something is wrong with Mom."

Peering over his shoulder at where she had last seen Murana, she sighed and stared back at Steven with irritation, "Okay, fine. What's wrong with her? If she's just doing this to escape responsibility, then she's got another thing coming!"

"She's hurt." Steven said plainly.

"Hurt?" Zoey cocked her head curiously. "How so?"

Steven scratched his neck, "We're not entirely sure. She was found by AJ and Billy, delirious and wandering the tunnels near Sahara Square." Zoey nodded as if she knew who those two were. "She doesn't remember anything. She-"

There was a short scream and shattering of glass as both Zoey and Steven burst into the room. Before them was Anthony trying to get a struggling Murana under control, screaming bloody murder and trying to snatch at a picture that had fallen to the floor, its frame broken and glass splintered. Steven walked over to pick it up and saw two fully shaved and naked wolf pups huddled in a red wagon, the older hugging the younger from behind.

"Why do you have it?! Why do you have it?!" Murana screeched.

"What the hell is going on?" Zoey clambered up onto the bed and was getting ready to dispense one of her classic 'get-yourself-together' slaps for her.

After some thought, Steven came to a realization. "Of course she'd remember this. Anthony, she's regressed back, right? She's blocked out everything that's happened past the point where she's at now. This picture is still in her memory." He took the photo out and shook it a bit to get any stray bits of glass shards off and brought it over to the heaving Murana. "Mom, who is this in the wagon with you?"

Her eyes focused like an eagle onto the image. She stopped fighting against her husband and stared at it for a long time. "That's…my brother. He's dead. Why do you have our picture?"

"It's your picture, honey." Anthony exhaled, tired and wanting nothing more than to sleep. "You brought it in here when we got married."

Murana's face roved between the two of them. "What did you call me?" She asked of Steven.

"Mom. I called you Mom." Steven said, hope rekindling in his irises.

"No…that's…I'm too young to have a son and be married. You're just joking with me, right? Trying to get me to do things I don't want!" She began to struggle again.

This time, Zoey did smack Murana upside the head, which stopped her short. "Okay, I don't know what happened to you, Murana, but you're clearly not yourself. Even if you don't remember me, or Anthony or even Steven, the fact remains is that we won't hurt you. You are safe here. So how about stop treating us like the enemy and just let us do our jobs to protect you?"

That calmed her finally. "O-oh…okay." She said submissively. "I'm sorry for being trouble again for you guys. I was wrong. Please punish me."

"Punish you…what?! No, we're not going to do anything of the sort! Where did you get a crazy idea like that?" Anthony responded, finally getting off of her and just laying back on the sheets, propped up on an arm.

She slowly sat up, "Isn't that what happens to bad boys and girls? They get whipped and chained before losing food for the week?"

"Sweet tar and feathers, Murana!" Zoey gaped. "Where the hell have you been living where that's normal?"

"It's her past…" Steven said ominously.

Anthony caught onto his train of thought, "She never talks about it to me. She wakes up sometimes with nightmares. Remember earlier this week? It was one of those times. She's always been guarded with what happened to her when she was young, but I'm starting to see the demented nature of what she had to grow up with and I'm beginning to hate whoever did this to her more and more."

Zoey put out a paw for the photo and took a gander at it, "Well, when you see clearly what was done to these two pups, I can see why. So what happens now?"

Anthony regarded his wife. "Well, given her current…state of mind, I'm not entirely sure if it is appropriate for me to be sleeping in the same bed as her." This statement caused a very strong reaction. Murana tensed up, bringing both her legs up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. "Yep, definitely not a good idea." He concluded.

"Guess you got the couch!" Steven said smugly.

"Oh, and where will you be sleeping?" Zoey slapped his arm, causing him to rub it tenderly.

"The couch as well, of course." He looked shocked.

"Uh-huh, well my apartment is always open…if you want." Zoey gave him a meaningful wink.

"T-that's all right. I'll be fine just chilling with Dad here tonight." Steven smiled fruitlessly. The title caused Anthony to regard him oddly.

"You need to work on your lies more, little boy." Zoey booped his nose before hopping off the bed. "Let's all get some rest tonight. I want a full report tomorrow morning." She sauntered off, shaking her tail sensually to hopefully entice Steven to follow. It sadly didn't work.

"Come on." Anthony groaned, sliding off and standing up. "Let's set up our nests out there." He turned to Murana. "The bathroom is over there if necessary and if you need anything at all, please, don't hesitate to let us know. We're here for you."

She scooted up to where her back rump hit the headboard of the bed, "O-okay. Thank you." She tried her best to smile.

Anthony was grumbling the entire time as he pulled out spare blankets and pillows from the nearby linen closet in the corner of the living den. Spreading them out over both couches, he set up two bedspreads. Flopping down fully onto one couch, he draped his arm over his eyes as he made a loud murmur.

"Been a while since I've had to sleep out here." He reminisced.

Steven snickered, "Yeah, she was not happy with you that day, was she?"

Chortling back, "No, no she wasn't. It was worth it though, just for the humor alone!"

"You think she's going to be alright?" Steven anxiously asked, his eyes going back to her door.

"I hope so. Either way, it's best that she has family close by in case she needs anything." Anthony began to settle in a bit more, getting relaxed. Despite it being on the couch, this was far more comfortable being back home than in Nick Wilde's apartment.

Steven ruminated a bit on the day's events. "How do you feel about Mom being the Dark Flame Wolf?" He was gauging Anthony's stance on what they were going to do with Murana.

A deep rumble reverberated in Anthony's chest as he answered, "I don't know how I should feel. I'm still processing everything. I'm a bit stunned, honestly."

"You think we should report what happened?" Steven inquired, pulling the blanket over himself.

"Report what, exactly? The story already is weird enough as it is. No, I think we should just keep this to ourselves. She's home safe now and that's all that matters." Anthony grunted, rolling over onto his back as if that decided the matter. As an afterthought, he called out over his shoulder, "Good night, Steven."

"Good night…Anthony." Steven struggled. He still wasn't any good at calling him Dad. It would be a long road before that would be earned. Still, he had to respect his position in Murana's life, even if she didn't remember it right now.

It wasn't long before he could hear Anthony's snores. Steven tossed and turned and realized he just wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Horrifying thoughts ran rampant through his mind as to what exactly happened to Murana these past few days. He hoped this temporary amnesia due to PTSD was temporary and that he'd get his wolf mom back. He wanted nothing more than to be curled up in her arms, spooning him as he fell asleep beside her like they did when he was growing up.

Steven couldn't stand it anymore. He had to talk to Murana one on one. Sneaking out from off the couch, he crouched low and snuck over to her bedroom door. Carefully twisting the door knob, trying not to make it clunk as the lock disengaged from the frame. He opened it slowly. He could see her sleeping form underneath the sheets. Her rate of breathing indicated she hadn't fully fallen asleep yet, probably still nervous about being in a 'new' place.

"Mom?" He whispered, taking a few steps through the grass inside.

"Who?" She bolted over, her gaze locking onto him instantly. It was quite startling the speed at which she did it that he froze in place.

"It's just me, Steven." He responded, seeing her visibly relax at this. "Can we talk?"

"Ok." She agreed simply.

He crawled up onto the bed and sat beside her, her larger form overshadowing his in bulk. He wanted to nestle closer to her, but decided it best to keep some distance from her so as to not scare her. "So you really don't remember me at all?"

Murana shook her head. "No, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You rescued me a long time ago from a very awful place. They were using me, probably like they were using you." Steven figured they might have had similar pasts given what he knew of her. She was guarded even around him when it pertained to anything in her youth.

This shared experience seemed to lower a barrier between them as she scooted up to sitting. "So what happened to those who hurt you?"

"Well, you killed them." A look of horror and shock caused him to follow up quickly, "They were all bad men and most likely deserved it, given what they were doing to us all." She nodded glumly, her eyes lost in thought, probably trying in vain to remember this. "You saved me. You adopted me as your own son and we've been living together for most of my life. We love each other very much."

Murana buried her head into her paws, tears erupting now as she sobbed. "I'm sorry I don't remember anything! I don't know what to think!" She raised up her adult paw, "I see my body is huge, but I don't remember ever growing up! It's like I've lost a huge part of my life."

Steven's heart broke for his Mom. He sidled up and put an arm around her, laying his head on her bicep. She only tensed for a moment before melting into the touch. He let her cry into him. It felt odd to now be the one who comforts. There was many a time where she would do this for him as he cried into her arms, so to have it reversed was such an odd experience.

"It's okay, Mom. We'll get your memory back. Maybe something will happen and it'll all come back to you." Steven hoped wistfully.

"I'm sorry, you seem like an alright kid, but I don't think I'd ever adopt a skunk." Murana said truthfully, trying not to be offensive.

"First off, stop apologizing, Mom. It doesn't suit you. Second, you said the same thing when I first came to live with you. You actually didn't want a son then, but we grew on each other and in the end, we became family." Steven dreamily remembered the good times they shared.

"Sounds…nice." Murana nuzzled into Steven. Whatever was going on inside her head with her younger self, it was clear she was starving for some touch and affection. What horrors his Mom had to go through to get to where she was now. He acquiesced her nonverbal cues and snuggled up next to her.

"Please, I hope you don't feel it too weird of me if I ask if we can curl up and sleep together?" Steven cringed a bit, hoping this wasn't going to set her off.

He probably was about the size of her younger brother in that photo. In fact, he could see on the other side of her, laying face up on the bedsheet, was that picture. She had probably been staring at it this entire time. At length, she nodded in the affirmative. "I'd like that. Thank you."

Excited yet cautious to not ruin this moment, Steven got into position like he normally did, letting Murana mold herself behind him, wrapping her arms and legs around. He nearly purred with contentment with the warm, fuzzy feeling of his Mom enveloping him in her warmth and comfort. He had missed this when Anthony moved in. He wanted to fall asleep right then and there, but knew he needed to make sure she was okay with this.

"You doing alright? Does this bring back any memories?" Steven whispered back to her.

"No, but this is nice." She squeezed him tight, feeling much more at ease with having someone sharing the bed with her, especially someone smaller than Anthony. It was apparent that as long as she was like this, she would always be hesitant to be close to Anthony this intimately.

Steven reached down with his foot paws and played with Murana's. "What about this? We used to tickle each other all the time right before bed like this."

Murana giggled, but still shook her head. "No, but you're silly."

"I know." Steven tried to be chipper, but this was making him depressed. They did this almost every night when he was still resided in her home. How could something like this not bring back anything? A dreaded thought pierced his heart. What if she never regained her past? Would they have to establish their relationship all over again?

They just lay there for a time, her breathing getting calmer and more rhythmic as her body was shutting down to sleep. He was drowsing off himself, but an idea occurred to him suddenly. Without waiting for permission, he was going to try one last thing. The first fresh scent he smelt on that day leaving the musk mill was the scent of her foot paw. To him, it was the smell of freedom and it bound him to her forever. He would follow her to the ends of the earth for what she did for him that day.

Shuffling out of her grip, he sneaked down beneath the covers and curled himself up around her paw pads, wrapping his tail like a big ball of fluff around her legs. He buried his face into her paws and breathed in deeply. He loved his Mom and this was one of the very few things to be able to calm him down, even when he didn't have his medication to control his panic attacks.

Steven jerked his head up as he heard a gasp from her. Her toes flexed and felt out his face. He wanted to rub up and massage his cheeks into her toes, but he let her discover him with her foot paws. This went on for several minutes, her toes covering every inch. Her entire body shook as she cried out softly. He wasn't sure if something was wrong and he should stop. He flung the sheet back off of him and watched her with concern.

"Mom, is everything alright?" He asked tentatively.

Murana looked at him with deep wells of recognition in her eyes. It was like nothing had changed at all between them. She gave him that grin of hers he loved so much, "Of course, Steven. What happened?" She gazed all around her apartment, as if seeing it again for the first time. This was not the last place she remembered being at before she went missing.

"You were lost and now you're found!" Steven cried out as he jumped into her arms, burrowing his face into her neck. "I'm so glad you're here, Mom!"

A bit taken aback, but still holding onto him tightly, "I'm glad you're here too. How are you, little stinker?" She gave him kissing licks on the cheek.

"At peace." He said, breathing in a big, ragged sigh, a huge smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a lot happening in this chapter and I needed to have it move at a decent clip without getting bogged down in the details of what happens between the multiple characters. I needed to quickly get across the idea that Murana had regressed due to PTSD, a condition that has seen some precedent in medical history and we get a glimpse into the type of abuses she grew up with as a cub. The hardest part of the chapter was the middle portion, to get the entire conversation flowing smoothly, so I addressed the altercation in the club above, the injuries that resulted, the situation with Murana, the relationship between each character and Murana and finally the plan ahead for what was to come to pass. It was quite the stumper until I realized I needed Billy and Steven to propel the entire plot along since AJ, Anthony and Ralph would more than likely just sit there and bicker among themselves as characters. Murana was also used as a device to continue the story moving forward. It was Berserker88's idea that the notion of her feet being the key to unlocking her memory. It was something so specific and so special to the two of them as mother and son that she would remember his face by touch alone in that sensitive part of her body: her hind paws. An odd way of going about it, but I realized the truth in Berserker88's words and went with that as being the trigger for Murana. With that, we have another day down. Where do we go from here? The answer may surprise you.


End file.
